A Night to Remember [ Open ]

[namine]

There was a reason for why she was here, but her train of thought was gone the second she stepped foot in this world. It was that time of year, when women would walk around with big, poofy dresses in an attempt to impress a man, while the men where there just because they had to be. That's right, it was time for the annual ball.

Naminé glanced around, her blue eyes sparkling with admiration and wonder. As a Nobody, she had never had the chance to experience a dance, so naturally she was all for this ball. But there were some slight problems. One, she had nothing to wear, and nothing to do for her appearance. And two, there was not a single person here that she knew. At this thought, Naminé became crestfallen. There was no way she would be able to enjoy this night as much as anyone else, now.

To avoid dwelling on the thought, the blonde quickly regained her composure. Even if she couldn't go to the ball, she was determined to find a way to have some sort of enjoyment tonight. All it'd take was a little bit of exploration. Now that she was out of Castle Oblivion, Naminé could do what she pleased for as long as she liked. At that thought, a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she watched the people file in to the ball.

[Xion]

Xion hadn't been to a dance before. Well...she'd never been to many places as far as she remembered, but the anual ball sounded interesting. Though, she couldn't really see the point of it. What were they celebrating anyway? It was a bit odd, at least to her.

But that was besides the point. She had kind of...sneaked out of the castle after a mission since she really had nothing better to do; and going to the clock tower alone wasn't fun. So there she was, in her long black coat, staring toward everyone else in childish curiosity. It was much funnier than getting attacked by the Heartless, that was for sure. She was still suffering the effects of that mission in Wonderland...the Large Bodies...ouch. She'd figured the other members of the Organization wouldn't mind, since they had forgotten her anyway. But why? That was a question she still needed to answer.

Xion made her way around the castle, walking with slow, almost tired steps as she stared at everything when she spotted a familiar face. Blonde hair, a short white dress and blue eyes. Xion's eyes widened in surprise, she was back as well! Unless she was mistaken. She made her way toward the other Nobody, and when she was at a safe distance, she poked her shoulder almost shyly. "Naminé? Is that you?"she asked uncertainly.

[namine]

Now that Naminé had time to think things through, she decided to mull things over in her head. Why was she here? Before, she had still been inside Kairi. Back in The World That Never Was, she had returned to her Somebody in order to make her whole again. The only thing that made being stuck inside a different person's body somewhat manageable was the fact that Roxas as in the same boat she was in. Whenever Sora and Kairi hung out with each other, she saw Roxas. She supposed that that made things a little bit easier. Though Naminé would never admit it out loud, she often did observe Sora and Kairi more than she should have. It was just genuine curiosity.

Since she had been separated from Kairi, Naminé's been in control of what's happened. At first, she was confused and headed back to Castle Oblivion. That proved to not be such a good idea, because she ended up being trapped there until Demyx stupidly left a portal open that led her here. She hoped that it didn't take too long for the Organization to notice her absence, or not even notice at all. At the thought of being free to do whatever she liked, Naminé suddenly grew nervous and played with her dress. What was she supposed to do now that she was her own person?

When she felt someone gently poking her on her shoulder, Naminé nearly jumped out of her skin as she snapped out of her revere. She looked wide-eyed at Xion for a moment, before her features calmed and she physically relaxed. The blonde nodded, offering a smile to the raven-haired girl. She wanted to speak, but she found that she had nothing to say. Naminé's gaze traveled back to the people crowding into the ballroom, noticing now that they were wearing masks. A masquerade? At the thought, Naminé's interest piqued. A masquerade ball did sound like fun...

Looking back over to Xion, the blonde smiled widely, as if she had some crazy idea planted in her head. Putting on the most innocent facade she could muster, she brought up her plan. "Hey... How good are you at dancng?"

[/blockquote]

[Sora]

This wasn’t really what he was expecting, or what he was aiming, to do in this fairytale land of a world. No, Sora didn’t foresee this at all, didn’t foresee that walking into that great big, glitteringly beautiful castle would cause such a fantastic and unwanted ruckus. Sora didn’t foresee maids and butlers dashing him off to a room of elegance and clothing and drapery (did the Three Fairies live here?). And, well, Sora definitely didn’t foresee a man actually stripping off his clothes and forcing him into an antique but bright suit, meant for a ballroom dance.

“Hey! Get off! I can do this by myself… I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself!” Sora had tried to shrug off the man’s hands as the middle-aged butler straightened the uncomfortably fitting and hot suit. The man, in a fit of panicked grumbling, was still ranting on under his breath about how some people didn’t knowing the meaning of style and class. The brunette frowned deeply, nervous and confused, before peering at his tossed black clothes, how different the style was from the clothing of this world. “At least tell me what’s going on!”

“Great God almighty! Have you gone insane too!?”The butler cried, as if in revelation, before heaving a terrible sigh. Sora’s face heated up slightly, blushed a crisp red, but not from the butler’s insult. So people, probably monarchs and nobles, were going insane here too… The butler, noticing Sora’s reddened face, suddenly gasped with a nervous breath. “I’m… I’m so sorry, my Lord. You are one of the royalty’s honored guests at the ball, but your attire… Is not appropriate. So we thought it best to provide some high-quality clothing meant for fun and dancing.”

“Oh. Well, that’s cool… I guess.” Sora murmured, rubbing the back of his caramel colored spikes before giving a reassuring smile to the butler, to let him know that Sora wasn’t angry, to let him know that Sora wouldn’t bring down some noble wrath upon the rude man. Still yet, who was the person who had recognized and had him invited? The butler bowed deeply, before leading Sora to a corner where a multitude of expensive looking, glistening masks glittered on a shelf. “Take your pick, my Lord.”

So here he was, in the midst of chattering and socializing royalty and aristocracy, along with a few middle class, all meeting up with allies and friends before the start of dancing. Sora had tried to question the butler about the person who had invited him, but the butler left in a rushed march to attend to other important matters. His mask was sparkling with gemstones the color of fresh roses, and his suit was just as bright and decorative. Now… the brunette was alone,a little confused, and definitely nervous. And why was he so nervous?

Sora didn’t know how to dance.

[Xion]

It was nice to see a familiar face. A familiar face who actually remembered her, also. Everyone else in the Organization had forgotten her, and while this had it's positive side, like the fact that they didn't know if they were supposed to be mad at her for leaving the Organization before, it was a pretty lonely life. She missed her friends. She missed...pretty much everything. She wanted to know...

She gave Naminé an uneasy smile when she asked if she could dance though. "Dancing...? I've never even tried it...why...?"she questioned, and then figured Naminé wanted her to teach her how to dance...something Xion couldn't really do. She'd never tried teaching anyone how to dance...and moreover, she was almost completely sure that she couldn't dance.

Xion tugged her bangs lightly. "Um, Naminé...I...I ws wondering if I could ask you something...well, if you have time anyway..."she mumbled. Naminé had cleared her doubts about herself before, even if she couldn't really remember what her doubts had been. Maybe she could do it again...

[namine]

At Xion's answer to her question, Naminé all but beamed. Even if the raven haired couldn't dance, going to the ball could be fun. "Oh, no reason. Just curious." She answered, looking back over to the castle. It seemed as though whoever worked there was stressed beyond relief, trying to keep track of all the chaos that had shown up for the evening. From what Naminé could tell, it was all upper class people attending the ball, and she frowned. If they were able to make it into the dance, it'd be obvious that they weren't as 'high up' as they were. She looked back over at Xion at her question, and offered a reassuring smile, "Sure, what's-- Hey!"

Before Naminé could help Xion, someone had a grip on her arm that was all but gentle, and began to tug her towards the mansion. "Wait, where am I going?" She asked, but received no answer. The blonde huffed, not wanting to argue with the big man that could snap her in half between two of his fingers. She looked desperately over her shoulder at Xion, an apologetic expression on her face, seeing as how they had been so rudely interrupted.

The man brought her in to the castle, finally letting go of her arm and Naminé winced. That was going to leave a mark. Before the man left, she stopped him "Wait! What about my friend?" The man gave her a passing glance over his shoulder, before smirking and walking away. Naminé frowned, not wanting to be here anymore. Suddenly, there were three very short ladies all over her. They grabbed her hands, leading her over to a dresser which contained a multitude of different dresses, and the trio began fighting over what color dress should be worn.

"The red one!"
"No, the blue one!"
"No, green!"

Naminé smiled gently, reaching through the women, into the dresser, and pulled out the white dress. They all hummed in agreement, before continuing on with their business. Soon enough, she was prepared. The three women had put her in a white sequin dress that was tied so tightly in the back, it was quite difficult to breathe. Her hair was up, loose strands falling into her face. And, there was the mask to match. Needless to say, Naminé felt like a princess. The three women proceeded to rush her out of the room, and down to the ballroom. How all of this happened, Naminé couldn't put her finger on it. But now, she was back to square one. She was by herself, and she didn't know anybody here.

Once she was ushered into the ballroom, the blonde scanned the area for Xion, hoping that she'd be able to pick her out from the crowd of people. She was desperate to find her, knowing fully well that if she couldn't find Xion, then she might as well should go back to Castle Oblivion. But still there was a thought in the back of her mind, the curious one, that told her to stay, to experience a dance. Naminé sighed, torn between what to do. But before she could decide, the door had closed, and the music started.

[/blockquote]

[Sora]

Now what was he going to do? Sora couldn’t help but sink in on himself, dropping his shoulders and dropping his confident attitude, feeling so incredibly awkward. He could just wing it, and the brunette really did contemplate that idea for a few brief moments before tossing it out of the metaphorical window—no point in looking like a complete fool if he could help it. Waltzing, any kind of elegant dancing, was out of his league. He was always the witness of the beautiful balls, like the dancing of Belle and the Beast, but never was Sora a (forced) participant.

But was there any way to avoid it?

Wait. Maybe, just maybe, Sora could find somebody to teach him really quickly. There wasn’t much time, music and merriment and couples had all immediately organized, but there was still hope. A chance. The brunette began to march his way through the crowds of gorgeous women and charming men, gracefully and fluidly evading contact and bumpings, and searched for a person he recognized—more specifically, for the mysterious person who had so spontaneously invited him, providing him with bright clothes and glittering mask…

Well, speaking of looking like a fool, there was a shouting loony ranting and raving on the other side of the room, a crazy man who actually looked very well off, an insane man with power. Sora immediately forgot his impulsive and impossible goal. Fantastic, more chaos… what was he going to do? Why did he get so distracted by a ball, of all things? He had things to do, hearts to save, and people to find! Sora, not watching where he was going, stressing, craned his neck to get a better view of the suffering old man… thinking of a way to stop the chaos from spreading-- With a spontaneous crash, the brunette had ran smack into a girl, a beautiful girl with blonde hair and a crisp, white dress that glittered and sparkled just as much as his flashy mask. The brunette gasped loudly as he slid and fell, attracting more than a few sharp giggles. The whole room was a buzz with the debacle, gossiping of course, and they gazed curiously away from the old lunatic and to Sora’s spectacular fall (which was an unexpected plus to this fall), which earned an embarrassed and nervous laugh from the poor brunette. Even the musicians stopped their tuning and practicing to spy the rude interruption. Swift servents quickly hurried the shouting man away from the party to hopefully induce some sense, but that probably wouldn’t happen. It never did…

The teenager frowned and stood, turning immediately to the small girl whom he had so clumsily bumped into. ”Oh! Sorry… About that. Are you okay?” With a pause, Sora rubbed the back of his head, peering around the room as the guests returned back to their own business. The brunette still had a scarlet blush covering his sunny face, which colored around the edges of his mask. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you…”

[Xion]

Xion was a bit tense upon finding out things. She didn't want to know, but at the same time she knew she had to figure things out some time or another. She opened her mouth to ask the first question before Naminé was pulled away by a stranger.

"Wha- hey, what's happening?"was all she managed to ask before Naminé was altogether dragged away. Xion wasn't sure if she should do something or not. A few moments later the man returned and started to tug Xion away, but she gave a small smile and simply started to walk away. She was then pulled away, much to her surprise. Xion let out a sharp gasp and started to struggle.

"N-no! Put me back down!"

She found herself being taken to another room. Xion was scared, and her first thought was to summon her Keyblade, but she wasn't even sure if there was danger at all. Three ladies then appeared out of nowhere and started showing her a few dresses,

Xion then started to put things together, maybe the man that had brought her here had mistaken her for a guest, and the same had happened with Naminé. Oh. No need to bring in the Keyblade then. She'd never had to pick out a dress though. She took half a look at the dresses and then finally opted for one that had several different shades of blue.

A few minutes later Xion took half a look at herself in the mirror and was shocked for a second. She almost thought it was a whole different person that was staring back at her from the mirror, for she had never seen herself in other clothes rather than her Organization cloak. It was a strange change for her, she was used to seeing herself dressed fully in black and now...with all the blue...it was a nice change. Nice and a bit frightening.

She figured she should go look for Naminé, but the whole place was crowded. It was hard to find her with all this people around. Xion sighed a bit and took a small walk around the ballroom.

[namine]

Naminé had taken to walking through the crowd of dancers, hoping to find Xion somewhere in the midst of them. She had no idea where her companion would be, or even if someone had dragged her into the dance like they had with her. The blonde frowned, narrowly avoiding couples as they suddenly turned and swiftly moved in her direction. It was a miracle how no one had given her any odd looks yet. Naminé continued her search for the raven haired girl, and she had managed to turn around just as someone clumsily bumped into her. She landed on the ground with an 'oof!' knocked out of her, and looked at the person who knocked into her with wide eyes, and when she recognized who it was, her face went pale.

Sora?

It was obvious that it was him. Who else in all of the worlds had spiky brunette hair that sprung in every direction? After realizing this, Naminé really wanted to get out of here. She knew that she couldn’t face Sora in here, of all places. Even though he had no idea who she was, whenever she looked at him she was reminded of the events that took place in Castle Oblivion a year ago. She manipulated him, played around with his memories, and had even become a bit selfish in the process. Sora had forgiven her, but still, she just couldn’t face him. It took her a moment to register that he had been talking to her, and she snapped out of her daze.

”Oh! Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” She started, inwardly cursing for stuttering. She watched as the blush remained on his face, and as he basically apologized for embarrassing her. Naminé tensed. She didn’t feel embarrassed, at all. Now back on her feet, she went over to Sora and placed her hands on either side of his face, making him look at her. She lost her train of thought for a moment when she felt how warm he was compared to how cold she was, but she smiled. ”You didn’t embarrass me,” She said, hoping to make him feel better.

It took all of two seconds for the memories to start rushing in again, causing Naminé to wince internally. She had caused so much pain and suffering, and the guilt was just too much. She hesitantly moved her hands from Sora’s face, putting them back at her side and her gaze dropped. What was she doing? She was Kairi’s Nobody. It was Kairi who was supposed to be here at a ball with Sora. Kairi was the person destined to be with Sora, not her. Naminé couldn’t help but feel jealous as she tore her gaze away from the floor, back to all of the couples that had started dancing again, and the jealousy turned into envy. She wanted to dance, she really did. But the thoughts in the back of her head kept nagging her and kept her from doing what she wanted. While glancing around, she spotted someone that she thought was Xion, and perked up slightly. Maybe she could get out of here now…

Naminé looked back at Sora, forcing a small smile. The space on the dance floor was increasingly growing smaller, making it difficult to just stand there without having the risk of someone ramming into you. She took a step away from Sora, thinking of the quickest way to get to Xion and leave. But, there was something that was making her stay. Something that was telling her to take all of her thoughts and throw them out of the window, and just experience something that she wanted for a change. Finally she caved, and nervously glanced at Sora. ”Would you… Like to dance?”

[/blockquote]

[Sora]

She touched his face. This girl placed her hands, gently and sweetly, on his cheeks and lifted his blushing face to her sapphire eyes, and that made Sora’s face redden even more… to the point it looked the color of bright lava. He opened his mouth but closed it, not knowing what to say. Finally, the brunette smiled a small and brief smile before watching her hands slip from his face, his mind just a muddled jumble of nothingness from the girl’s soft touch.

“Would you… Like to dance?”

This question, it definitely made his mind race. Immediately, the idea of having a good time at the ball, finding the mystery person who had invited him, finding someone to dance with yet again became his top priority. There was chaos in this world; the brunette didn’t doubt that after seeing that old lunatic screaming just moments ago—so this place was as good as any to fight the creeping darkness. Still yet, Sora didn’t know this girl, didn’t know what background she came from, and he definitely didn’t know how she would feel about dancing with a boy… who simply couldn’t dance. Sora wanted to dance with her, more than anything, but his quick and nervous fidgets revealed his fears-- But something told him that this girl would understand. Finally, he spoke… softly but pleadingly, “Yes-- But guide me, please.”

The first dance of the night had begun.

The music rose to a loud and whirling buzz, sound waves pouring from the strings of violins, cellos, and basses. Flutes and pianos rang with clear notes around the large ballroom. It was alleviating, hearing the music, music which helped to guide the dancers with a steady and grand beat. This beautiful tune wasn’t enough though, and Sora was at a loss as to what he should do next, struggling to think. Finally, the teenager got into position and held hands with his dance partner just as everybody else was doing, the brunette sneaking peeks at the other dancers slyly and frequently. Somehow, despite the nervous rigidity of his stance, Sora quickly got the hang of the steps and managed to look halfway decent in his dancing. It took a while to loosen up, and Sora did accidentally step on his dance partner’s shoes a time or two (which he apologized with quick whispers over and over again), but the brunette finally looked like he was having fun. Of course, just when that fun was achieved, a break was soon coming up, to give the dancers time to rest and socialize, to switch to different partners if needed.

The musicians, being subtle and talented, led their instruments into a smooth decrescendo, letting the dancers transition and prepare themselves for the interlude. When the music finally floated into silence, Sora stepped away and bowed to his dance partner, just as the other men had done to their other halves. The brunette straightened and grinned a sweet and happy grin, actually getting back into his usual confident demeanor. “That was great! And…” Sora rubbed the back of his head uncertainly, tossing a glance at the floor before returning his gaze back to the girl’s. “… and thanks for putting up with me. I’ve never… really been to a dance before, but it was so fun.” He had started to walked away, walking toward a space less crowded, not watching his steps nor the space directly behind him. “By the way, I never caught your name. Mine’s Sora—“

With a sudden slam, Sora yet again crashed into another girl, another beautiful girl, and the brunette yet again had the same reaction, blushing like mad. How could he possibly do the same thing twice in one night? The brunette tossed a glance at the blonde headed girl before quickly getting to his feet, quickly surveying his surroundings to find that, thank God, not many people had even noticed the rumbling tumble. His attention immediately snapped back to the girl he had so spontaneously and clumsily crashed into, a girl with black, sleek hair, glowing eyes, and a matching blue dress. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Sora muttered as he helped the girl.

[Xion]

It was...fun. To say the least.

Xion didn't even approach the dancers. She was happy, just staring at them. It pretty much got her mind off things. Every question she had previously had disappeared, at least until the dance was over. She sighed and then took half a glance around the room, looking for Naminé. She had no idea where she'd gone off to...

The place was too crowded; Xion had to stand on her toes to look around. Once more, she regretted the fact that the darkness that had brought her back to life in such an unexpected manner hadn't even bothered to make her at least an inch taller. What a pain. It would have been a good way to apologize for dragging her back to the world without having the consideration of asking if she wanted to come back in the first place.

The questions started to lurk her mind again, and she tried t drive them away once more. Why had the darkness bothered to bring her back? And what for? Everyone had always said that Nobodies weren't supposed to exist, but if they weren't, then what were they doing here? People were usually put in the world for a reason, and a good one. If they had no reason to exist, then why were they there?

Her reverie was broken when someone bumped into her, she was almost knocked out of her feet, but caught herself in the last minute. The boy that had buped into her started apologizing almost madly. Xion had to give him a meek smile. "It's--"

She came to an abrupt halt and stared at him for a few seconds, her gaze curious and confused. She knew she knew him...she just knew it. A few lost memories shot through her mind at that same moment, but she couldn't quite put htem together. The sea, the sparkly water, the salty breeze, laughing with people she couldn't recall... Xion had to hold a hand to her forehead. This was making her dazed, almost as though she'd been hit on the head. The sensation she had at the moment was pretty similar to getting hit on the head.

[namine]

Surprisingly enough, Sora had excepted her invitation to dance. Naminé offered him a grateful smile, having no problem guiding him along the way. She wasn’t perfect at dancing herself, but after playing around with some memories, she had a good idea of what to do.

For someone who had never experienced anything like this in her lifetime, Naminé was having a lot of fun. She giggled when Sora would accidentally step on her feet and start apologizing like a madman, telling him it was alright. Soon, the brunette began to enjoy himself as well, and she was relieved. There was a thought in the back of her mind telling her that she shouldn’t be enjoying herself this much, but it was too hard not to. The only thing that bothered her was that Sora had no memory whatsoever about who she was, while she knew everything about him.

The dance was soon over, and there was a break for all of the dancers to either relax, or go find someone new to dance with. Naminé smiled at Sora as they began to walk away from the dance floor. ”It was no problem, I’m glad you had fun.” Then, that was when she remembered Xion. The blonde froze mid-step, hoping that Xion hadn’t gotten into any trouble while she was gone. And then, Sora crashed into her.

It was so fast, watching the two crash, then Sora tried helping Xion, and then Xion began holding her head as if in pain. That’s when it hit Naminé that the two should not be together. She moved quickly, going to Xion’s side and helped her up to her feet, looking at Sora helplessly. ”I should probably get her out of here. She’s…” She couldn’t say that Xion was a part of Sora, one that fought so hard for him and lost everything in the end, ”She’s felt dizzy all day. I guess it finally caught up to her.” She wasn’t the best liar, but she figured that that would suffice for now.

Naminé glanced towards the doors, wondering how in the world she was going to manage to get Xion safely away from Sora without him following. She knew that Sora was bound to stick to her side like glue anyway, never one to leave someone that was in pain. Sighing, the blonde wrapped her arm around Xion’s waist, helping her walk to where it’d be safe.

ooc:// GAH, sorry it's so short. D: *flail*

[Sora]

Sora merely hoped the girl would nod and be on her way, or better yet, act like his dance partner and be kind. But instead, this girl with the blue dress and the tiny stature and the black hair like—like Kairi’s—seemed to be utterly confused and disoriented. The brunette immediately went to her side, frowning as he began to think the worst. “Is this my fault?” He whispered frantically to Namine as he tried to figure out a quick way to come the girl. Nothing came to him. Did he embarrass her? Did he hit her too hard? Did she fall prey to… the sudden bouts of madness that infested the worlds like a horde of diseased rats? That thought made the brunette’s heart race. Not another one. This was getting ridiculous…

“Oh! She’s your friend?” Sora perked up, relieved, at the suggestion that she was only dizzy. At least she wasn’t insane—but wait, he still shouldn’t be happy… maybe something was actually wrong with the girl. The brunette, not taking a hint, stood up in unison with the blonde, standing by Xion and doing the same, grabbing her waist and helping her to a spot more secluded and quiet.

“Don’t worry. I bumped into you, so I gotta pay you back.” The brunette nodded to the girl, but as they stopped for a second, the brunette removed the heavy, porcelain-like mask from his face, rubbing the red indention marks where the uncomfortable thing had dug into his skin. “Getting tired of this thing.” Sora muttered, letting the mask hang haphazardly on a hidden clasp on his pants, trying to give the raven-haired girl a reassuring smile. He was the only one without a mask in the ball, and immediately got the attention of the very same man who had attended to him in the beginning of the ball.

“My God sir!” The panicked butler breathed as he rushed up to brunette, snatching his mask like it was some precious gemstone, “Do you realize this is a masquerade ball? Do you realize this mask cost thousands to make? Do you realize the insult you have inflicted upon your host, the one who has so graciously invited and clothed you?” The middle aged, stuffy man huffed and puffed. The brunette gulped, shaking his head in nervous, tiny jerks. “Well, then I shall show you your failings!” The butler didn’t seem to care that Sora might have power anymore. Class and style and etiquette mattered more. And so off the brunette went, being dragged off rather forcibly while saying quick goodbyes to the two girls he had met, and also saying he was going to try and help when he got back. Because he didn’t know how to get away from this guy without pure force. There was no need for that here—no need for more chaos.

And so there he stood in a dark and secluded part of a hallway, listening to that old, stuffy butler rant and rave about his rudeness, wondering how he could possibly help the girl. Ignoring her, finding something else to do, was not an option. “Y’know, I have somewhere I gotta be.” Sora said, glaring impatiently. Of course, the man paid him no attention. And he just kept on.

[Xion]

How could things turn around so easily?

Xion's daze knew no end, she couldn't see anything other than those odd flashbacks that didn't belong to her and all the voices around her felt blurred. She couldn't hear or see anything. So she couldn't answer the questions that were directed toward her

But she could feel.

And when the boy came closer, the headache got a lot worse. She couldn't even hear her own thoughts, her mind was too jumbled and she was too tired. It hurt so much...and what were all those voices?

"But how far can a raft take us?"

"Who knows? If we have too, we'll think of something else..."

"So suppose you get to another world. What will you do there?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. I've just always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?....That's why we have to go out there and find out..."

Those voices sounded so familiar...and she couldn't recall them. Blue eyes closed....

....And the next thing she knew was that she was leaning into a wall, holding a hand to her forehead and that the headache was fading away slowly. She blinked lightly. What had happened? She tugged at a lock of black hair, and pushed it away from her eyes. She didn't know what had happened...

"...Naminé?"she called out, looking around. Where was she?

She needed answers, soon.

[derp]

The Castle of Dreams...this is around the time of the annual ball, I believe. Maybe this could be my big chance to get to know someone a little....special. Then again, this could all turn out horridly for me. It's the impossible dream, finding some love. Yet, some are lucky enough to find someone closest to them. Maybe it could be my turn....maybe...besides, its been a while since I ever danced. That may be a hinderance...

Inku stood near the huge door of the castle, making his way through under his hood, wanting to be the mysterious and cool type. As he made his way closer into the ball, he came to look upon the garish and attention seeking vibes of the dresses and scenery of the guys and ladies of the fairest. Of course, he wasn't all that fancily dressed, and he didn't care much. After all, he came for a little fun, and, in his own thought, why should he be restricted to poofy wares? "Ok, j-just act cool, and don't act crazy...."

He made his way to the center, and wiggled a bit from the slight breeze he felt. He smirked a bit, and waited around for someone...anyone...to come to him. "This should be fun, just a nice little dance. Have a few laughs, get to know folks, all a little fun...." he said, unknowing of his growing nervousness. As time passed, he began sweating a bit, his feet a little wobbly, and his mind raced of his own feelings, wondering if anyone would like him enough. It's ok....Im not weird or anything, someone will come...hopefully...