Just another day at the beach (Tag: Aysel)

[clockwatcher]

Today was one of No. IX’s days off, however, this short break was self-allocated: it was not an official vacation, but Demyx had said, time and time again, that it was time for a vacation; and to himself, he said he was going to get one, even if it meant breaking the rules. And thus, when he found the opportunity, he had taken it and decided to spend the day at a world that was pretty new to him: Destiny Islands.

He had been there a few times before, but only briefly, to scout the place out. He didn’t really want to run into large numbers of Heartless, or even just the one, especially if that one was one of the large Heartless sub-species. He really, really did not want to encounter one, on his own. So, when he was sure that the islands were fairly safe, which only required him to zip around the place through Dark Portals, in a somewhat lazy fashion, he had opened a portal on the wooden walkway, near a rickety shack; this walkway would lead him to a small, open area, that was supported on wooden beams, and reached out into the sea. A few large trees provided some shade to the area.

The sun was bright, and Demyx was sure that if he were out on the beach, where there was no shade, and he were wearing clothes that didn’t completely cover his skin, save for his face, he would most likely get sunburned- something he wasn’t fond of; this was the reason why Demyx was currently seated on the edge of the wooden pier, his legs hanging over the edge, and swinging slowly back and forth. The Nocturne was leaning backwards, propped up by his arms; Demyx was looking out to the sea, with the hood of his cloak up, but loose and open. Every now and then he’d speak out loud and make a comment, often imitating his best friend, Xigbar, guessing what he’d be thinking of the young blond, and what he’d say, if he were there with No. IX. There had been no sight of him yet, in the worlds that Demyx had visited since his resurrection, and the notion that Xigbar hadn't come back, was deeply troubling Demyx.

As far as he could tell, there was nobody else around, or at least, on this section of the island. He didn’t have much planned for the day; chances are that he would probably find a comfy spot in the shade, somewhere, and take a nap. He was close to falling asleep right then and there, for his eyes were half-closed, and he was gradually leaning further and further backwards, almost to the point where he would be horizontal; the cool sea breeze was calming, the place was quiet; what better location or time was there, really?

[Aysel]

It seemed almost peaceful on the world. Perhaps, the peace was what led Aysel there. Or, it could have just been a complete accident.

In fact, it definitely was.

Without knowing how to operate through the corridors of darkness properly, the woman found herself exiting into a body of water.

Wait. Wait, what? Water?

It almost felt like an old cartoon where a character unknowingly ran off of a cliff, and just kept running until they looked down, then plummeted to the bottom. But it was only like that to the redheaded woman, surely, as anyone around probably would have missed the sudden event of a dark shadow-like blob forming in the air, then fading with a sudden splash.

How did that even work?!

She had never even been dispensed into the air before! Why just above a body of water?

Only to add misfortune, the water had been just deep enough to allow her entire body to slip beneath the water for a second, just from the shock. Shooting up, the woman's eyes widened, almost panicked. In a jerky motion, she fought quickly against the restraints that held on her gas mask and ripped it off, only to burst into a coughing fit.

Oh, jeez. Water in a mask that covered one's nose and mouth was not the best way to function.

"Not my day," she coughed, holding the mask in one hand, as she worked to the shore of what seemed to be a small island. The taste of the water lingered faintly on her tongue from the drops that had fallen into her mouth due to coughing, along with what had been inhaled.

Once on the sand, she placed a strap from the mask in her mouth, biting to hold it, while she attempted to squeeze some of the water from her hair. Finally stopping her attempt, she removed the mask from her mouth, staring down at it in her hands. She was going to need to wait until it dried before she could put it back on.

Great. She could only guess she'd have a fever come nightfall. After all, she was dripping and being contaminated by the air! Eyes lifting to the sky, the woman shook her head rapidly, drops of water still flicking from her hair and onto the ground around her. It was warm, and breezy, so there was a good chance her clothing would dry quickly.

At least, she could only hope.

Soggy. She was soggy. Like toast. Who liked soggy toast?

That's right. Nobody.

Looking around, the woman came to a realization. The island was relatively empty. It seemed like this place would have more people, didn't it? It took a moment of standing on dry land before the woman felt confident enough to move. Turning, she noticed a figure on a nearby pier.

Slowly, the woman advanced toward the other. Were they the only one, other than herself, on this island? At this point, it seemed kind of like it.

"Uhm?" the woman let out a faint, almost curious sound. But, no, she wasn't curious. The expression on her face, rather vacant, even stated that she wasn't. Approaching the figure -- was it a man? -- she brought herself relatively close to his location, before pausing. Maybe it was best not to get too close to the other. They didn't really look like they wanted company too much.

[clockwatcher]

"Hu-what..!?"

Just when it seemed like nothing was going to disrupt his hard-earned vacation, the sound of a loud splash pulled him back to reality. Demyx sat up, and quickly looked around him, ready for anything )or so he wished), but there was nothing, and no one, to be found. Confused, he scratched the back of his head, and then shrugged, dismissing the noise.
"Prob’ly just a big fish… I guess?" he asked no one in particular; his thought instantly of Heartless, but ..there had been no sign of Heartless here. The islands were quite peaceful, and showed no signs of being inhabited by the dark creatures, but then again, most places were like that, and hid swarms of them.

Demyx dwelled on that thought for a while, his anxiety slowly building up. It wouldn’t exactly hurt to go take a quick look, now would it..? The Nobody sighed, and scooted backwards on the pier, and stood up, brushing down his robes. There was nothing he could do now, but take a quick look, to find the source of the noise. For one reason or another, he hadn’t heard the ”Um?”. This was slightly out of character, for he usually didn’t go investigate such things; there was always the possibility that it was a large Heartless, and Demyx did not want to run into one.

He walked over to the other side of the pier, and leaned on the railing; as he did so, a newcomer to the islands, the source of the splash, was making her way across the beach after having landed in the ocean. It took him several seconds to notice the figure, and he stepped back in surprise, half-expecting the stranger to have been a Heartless. Demyx blinked, and held a hand over his eyes to shade them from the glare of the sun, so he could take a better look at the newcomer. Nope, she didn’t look dangerous. No weapon on her, from what he could see. Just a regular person who, from the look of her, had just taken a swim in the ocean. He grinned, and waved at the drenched figure.

"Hey! Took a swim in the ocean, right? How was it?” The Nocturne folded his arms on the railing, and leaned on them. He was pretty positive that the stranger wasn’t a danger, and thus he didn’t summon Arpeggio; why stir things up if they were going smoothly?

[Aysel]

"Oh, it was wet. Really, really wet," the woman smiled, only mimicking the way the other held himself. She was pretty good at copying other people. Now, what this expression actually entailed could have been an entirely different situation. Just simply from how he stood, it implied that he was more friendly than a harm, so revealing a smile was likely what was desired.

Or not. She didn't know. It was always guesswork.

Taking that he was a friendly being, she moved to get onto the pier, moving at a decent pace, so as not to take forever. Nobody would be patient with a turtle-like speed. Even the one walking.

Once on the pier, the woman shook her head a little, once again, releasing tiny drops of water from her hair. Guh! Why was she so... drippy?

Oh. Wait. Water. Right.

"So wet, in fact, that I bet you're just dying to hop into the ocean, yourself," was her final addition to the thought of swimming. It almost seemed like the words lacked something, to her. Had they been properly voiced? She hoped that it had come off more joking than harmful. If not, the damage had been done.

Taking her gas mask, she fastened it loosely around her neck -- or, really, as loosely as the straps would allow, around her scarf, which was also wet. What wasn't, regarding the woman's apparel, though, at this point?

While doing so, the woman took an occasional glance about, only to return her eyes to the other. "Are you the only one here?

[clockwatcher]

In response to the stranger’s emphasized comment that the sea was indeed quite wet, Demyx laughed out loud, somewhat nervously. True, he was generally friendly to everyone, and as he was a pacifist, he did not want to stir up trouble and get into an argument or even a battle, unnecessarily. And even if it was necessary, he would do all he could to escape it, much like coward. Aggression and dominance just wasn’t in his nature. He kept his eyes on the newcomer as she walked closer to his pier, and he turned on the spot to face her directly, keeping one arm on the railing, and the hood of his cloak up.

”Ahh…? No thanks; maybe some other time. .”

Demyx frowned, regarding the question; he wasn’t completely sure if it was supposed to be a sarcastic joke, or was a serious invitation. It reminded him of a particular Nobody, either way; with aquamarine eyes cast down, he lowered his shoulders with his arms hanging limp at his sides. "Where is it that you're hidin', Xiggy...? Can't do this forever.." Demyx quickly got over that sudden melancholy, straightening his posture; he glanced sideways to the stranger, who was momentarily busy with adjusting her ..gas mask? The Nocturne took a step back, and regarded her with one raised eyebrow. He gestured towards her with both hands, indicating the gas mask., but the newcomer beat him to it, when it came to questioning.

Demyx looked taken aback at the question; he jerked to attention, raising his arms into what looked like a defensive position, in front of him; he looked as though he hadn’t been listening and just realized that someone asked him an important question, and that person was about ready to hit him. His reaction was due to a certain, high-ranking Nobody within the Organization, who had found a ‘hobby’ in tormenting Demyx, or so No.IX liked to say. Once he realized that he wasn’t going to have his ears boxed, he relaxed, and swept one arm across the air in front of him, indicating the whole island.

”You got that right! Until you came along, I guess. So, uh… what’s your name?” If he was going to spend a little more time with this person, he’d better learn her name, of all things, first; and then it might be a good time to leave. Who knew when he would be discovered b-oh, wait. Right. The Organization was in pieces, just about; there really was no one to come looking for him, to see if he was working, and reprimand him for it.

[Aysel]

For a moment, the other seemed sad. Was that right? Sad? Part of the redhead wanted to question why, but she knew better than to ask about something that could be personal. After all, he was still a stranger.

At least she could identify him as male, now.

Really, Aysel didn't understand the gestures to her gas mask. She could only take a guess, but didn't really respond. She'd hate to give an answer to an unasked question, only to get the question wrong.

It seemed the man was full of strange gestures, as he appeared to defend himself. This actually made the woman jerk back a bit, confused expression slipping onto her face. What in the world was he doing? It wasn't as though she was moving to injure him. Really, she doubted that the hooded man would just allow her to, if she were to actually move to harm him.

Then he finally answered. Dramatic being, wasn't he? But, they were the only ones here. It was strange that it would be the situation. Maybe, everyone else had just moved to a different location? It seemed strange for someplace to be so empty. Though, she wouldn't complain.

Sometimes, it was better if others weren't around. Unless the situation called for it, Aysel prefered a lack of people. It seemed as though they made her uncomforable, and perhaps, they really did. After all, she couldn't predict what mass amounts of beings would do. It was hard enough to grasp what a single person would, let alone a group.

"Aysel," the woman's pale lips curved to a smile. It felt almost strange without something covering her expressions. "And your name?" the woman's voice trailed off, awaiting an answer.

[clockwatcher]

Demyx visibly relaxed, more so than before, and he flashed a smile at the stranger; his face was more visible than before, for his erratic movements had caused his loose hood to fall back a bit, revealing his face a little. Aysel, was it? He cocked his head t the side, his eyebrows lowered; juggling decisions in his mind, he settled on one; it wouldn’t hurt to tell her his name, would it? She didn’t seem so bad, and he doubted that anything particulary bad would occur on account of his telling her his name. The Nocturne raised a hand to rush some hair out of his face, only for it to fall back again, and he gestured toward himself, a cheerful grin on his face.

”Aysel, right. And me? No harm in that, I guess… I’m Demyx. So, uh.. what brings you here, Aysel?”

Demyx raised his hands and lowered his hood, brushing his hair back with one hand afterwards. He glanced skywards for a moment, and, appearing deep in thought for a moment, he reached inside his robe and pulled out a water bottle, uncapped it, and drunk from it, emptying a quarter of it in one go. Sighing heavily, he began speaking, albeit more to himself than to Aysel, if anything.

”Man, it’s starting to get hot out here. Should've brought more supplies..” It didn’t occur to him instantly, that his element was water, and nothing was technically stopping him from refilling the water bottle, but artificial water probably did not taste as good as the real thing. Looking back to Aysel, he began to offer her the water bottle, but upon realizing that she had already cooled off by the unfortunate swim, he took it back, and laughed apologetically.

"Sorry, sorry! Forgot, heh heh."

[Aysel]

"Demyx," the woman repeated faintly, to herself. Restating a name made her feel as though she'd remember it better. Perhaps, it would. Then again, with the feeling that little occurred in her mind to busy it, anyway, she probably would have remembered the name for a while, regardless.

"I'm not really sure," Aysel shrugged. "Suppose I was just wandering and stumbled here," she smiled, still, though her mind went through better ways that she could have worded the sentences. She could have even said something like 'sightseeing, and probably would have felt more satisfied with the statement. But it was further from the truth. "And yourself?"

When he removed his hood, Aysel finally got a proper look at him. Sure, his hood had been loose enough to see a little, but she didn't consider it a full look at his face. It kind of dropped that creepy-stalker vibe from the man, once his face was no longer concealed in the slightest. It also removed anything from her imagination that could have formed out of the mystery.

Mentally, she sighed in relief. The thought that Demyx had been wearing the hood to conceal an unbearable deformity had crossed her mind at least once since spotting him. Not quite the best at concealing startling realizations, she would have found it extremely difficult not to point it out, if that had been the case.

In fact, the young man looked quite normal. What had been with the hood, then?

Hearing him babble to himself, she turned back from her thoughts, to listen. "Not used to the heat?" she shifted, making a small hand motion, lifting her palm to face upward, as if emphasizing the question. She really didn't favor talking with her hands, but it had come second-nature, as an easier way to express certain feelings that she didn't feel could be properly displayed by one that truly lacked them.

"You know, wearing black is supposed to make you warmer, too." Maybe, this was common knowledge, and he would be frustrated that she would make such an obvious statement. Was it known by most? Probably, seeing as she knew it. But really, the big cloak? It was just begging for a heat stroke.

At the offer of water, which was quickly apologized for, Aysel shook her head again, sending tiny drops of water around her, still, only for red strands of hair to messily press to the sides of her face, until they were put in their proper place by her fingers. For having short hair, it seemed like it managed to retain a lot of water.

A teasing voice slipped from her lips, "if I'd known you any longer, I'd insist on giving you a hug for that offer," she lifted her arms a little from her sides, shaking them a bit, for water to drip to the ground around her feet, emphasizing the meaning behind the statement, just to drop them to her sides again. Oh, the drippy feelings that one would encounter from touching her clothing.

A thought crossed her mind, then. If he had known that she had been swimming, yet was aware that nobody was in the area, how was there no question to her sudden appearance? Did he think that she had fallen out of a spaceship?

Well, really, that was a possibility, wasn't it?

To her, it was best not to be questioned anyway, lest there be an awkward moment with her trying to figure out a decent lie.

[clockwatcher]

Demyx moved as though he was going to recap the bottle, changed his mind, and raising it to his lips he drunk from it again, watching Aysel out of the corner of his eye. He had the sudden notion that it'd be a good idea, in this heat, to dump the remaining water over his head, in a poor effort to cool himself, but.. he'd probably only look stupid; if he was serious about getting out of the sun, he'd better go back to the Castle and take a shower: he felt.. unclean, and in fact, he detested the idea of sweating. As Aysel remarked, wearing all-black clothes and hanging around under the sun, would intensify the heat.
Lowering the bottle, he stared at its emptiness forlornly. Why didn't he bring more, again? Now that the bottle was useless, he recapped it and threw it to the side, where it rolled across the pier and came to a stop near the edge. In response to Aysel's justification for swimming, he laughed, ”You, too? That's- uh, never mind. "

Demyx almost said it; he almost got to explaining that he regularly went walkabout while out on missions for the organization, and that wouldn't be good on his report.

Oh, hey, Saix! I just finished having a conversation with a cool new buddy of mine I told her all about the Organization and what I do for it! And, you won't BELIEVE this. she.. And so on.

The young man (for he looked to be in his late teens, early twenties; he didn't have a true age) reached behind hes neck and fidgeted with the edge of his hood, his eyes focused on his own boots as he thought of how best to respond; yes, he did feel something, but the feeling was muted, and he struggled to decipher just what it was, and failed. In doing so, he smiled apologetically to Aysel, then quickly nodded, confirming that he did not work well under the sun.

”Got that right! It's too hot out here, man. I feel, like, I'm going to melt or something. " Pausing for a moment, he suddenly threw up his hands in a 'I've had enough of this! gesture, and stomped one boot onto the ground, and whined, a pained expression came over his face. "Man, would it kill them to give me longer breaks, more often!? I snuck out here, because they, they...!" He kicked at the nearby water bottle out of frustration, apparently forgetting that there was someone else in his presence, one who, like everybody else, should not be given details about the Organization.

As soon as it had started, his tantrum ended; he wiped his forehead with the back of one gloved hand, and sighed. If he wasn't mistaken, the place was getting hotter. Suddenly, he spun around to face Aysel, aware that she had been speaking to him. "Huh? Oh, this." Demyx studied his robes. What excuse could he give her? Just when he was about to answer her, she proposed on hugging him, which startled the Nocturne. He blinked, and backed away from her, raising his hands in front of him, in a back off! position. "A hug..? No way, man! .. I mean, miss." It wasn't too easy to tell whether he was telling the truth or not; his way of talking was rather odd, for one, as he ended nearly every sentence with a high tone, similar to when one asks a question; Demyx never felt 100% sure of himself, and how he should react to most situations.

[Aysel]

The man seemed like a nice person. Really, Aysel appreciated that he was the one that she had found, rather than a grouchy old man, or something.

She could even imagine the situation of having met an older, grouchy being over Demyx. Sure, her mind exaggerated it, including the person to be extremely aged, waving an object of some form, and giving her a boring lecture. She could also imagine trying to leave that situation as quickly as possible.

The idea to make a comment about melting had crossed the redhead's mind as quickly as it faded, This was only because the man started babbling about something, seemingly angrily. But any thoughts, she kept to herself, as he continued onto her hug offer.

A faint laugh escaped the woman's lips. "But I'm drippy. It'd cool you down," of course, only teasing. Who would want a hug from a damp stranger?

After a moment passed, the woman glanced to her feet. A bit of sand was still stuck to them, from moving across the beach. She supposed this was a time to be thankful for not wearing shoes. If she did, they would have been soggy and squishy. And, much as her earlier thought pattern implied, nobody liked soggy.

Eyes flickering up to the other, again, Aysel decided to voice the question that had been on her mind for a couple of minutes. "Who are the 'They' you mentioned a moment ago?"

After all, if the woman refused to question, she may never know the answer to this. She could only assume, by how he spoke, that it was some people at a job of his, or something. Maybe not. And that was where the questioning would come in.

It never hurt to ask. Right?

[clockwatcher]

Demyx leaned back against the pier’s railing, folding his arms across his chest. True, it would be nice to cool down in this heat, and he shook his head in reply to Aysel’s insistent offer for a hug. If he were to cool down, his best bet would be to summon a Dark Portal and return to the Castle That Never Was, and take a good long shower.

"Hah hah, you’d think so, right?”

He turned his attention from her to his cloak, at which point he reached down and raised the zipper upwards, loosening his robes so as to become cooler; the sea breeze was still strong, but it wasn’t really cooling him down, it was only blowing heat across the pier. Demyx turned his face away from the breeze, and began to fidget with the beaded cords hanging at his neck. He looked concerned, and deep in thought; he wasn’t thinking about anything particularly important. In truth, he was mulling over what his next move should be; to return to the Castle and snag extra drinks and a snack or two, or, to continue his search for the other members, and leave Aysel here. He hoped that she wouldn’t get the idea to try and follow him, whenever he got the chance to bring the subject up; that he had to leave on ‘urgent business’.

The opportunity would come sooner rather than later, fortunately, for Aysel suddenly brought up a question regarding the Organization XIII. Startled, Demyx looked up sharply towards her, his eyebrows raised.

"” They’? OH. They’re, uh.. they’re a group that I hang out with, sometimes.. Ahh.”

The blond Nobody slouched forward, one arm poised next to his side, his fingers splayed out and ready to summon a Dark Portal; with the other hand he rubbed the back of his neck and an apprehensive look came over his face. Demyx had started to become agitated upon being asked that; he then said to himself, out-loud,

“Not much of a group anymore; haven’t seen the others yet, ‘sides Axel.. Man, you’d think an Organization would be more.. more. . organized.””

[Aysel]

The woman wanted to question the other's concerned expression, but kept herself quiet. Asking too many questions at once would seem irritating to most, which she even knew. And would make answering just one difficult. Knowing this prevented further questioning.

Anyway, it was hard enough for her to keep up a 'curious' personality much longer. In fact, if one were to pay attention, they would likely realize that she didn't seem half as curious as her questioning implied. But, for some reason, she didn't want to be left alone.

As Demyx made a familiar movement, Aysel took a quick step forward. The movement may have only seemed recognizable, and could have easily been misread, but part of her saw it as the same motion that she had become relatively familiar with. Perhaps, with the way she reacted, it was obvious. Or, maybe it wasn't. Who knew?

But the man seemed to be talking to himself, again. Not really desiring the end to their conversation, which had appeared to go sour due to her last question, her lips curved downward. "If I offered to help you find them, would you not be angry?"

Maybe angry wasn't the right term. Frustrated, perhaps? It wasn't like she could identify it properly. Anger was probably the closest emotion that she could relate to Demyx's sudden posture, even if it wasn't accurate.

But, the redhead was trying to think of something to keep him there. Not because she wanted to take up his time, really, but what else did the woman have to do? If left alone there, the redhead would probably take leave, as well, and wander around aimlessly again. It would be depressing, if she could actually feel that. Although Aysel didn't realize it, perhaps it really was best that she was quite clueless toward emotions.

"I don't know, honestly, if I said something wrong, but I'd rather not make you want to go because of it." It wasn't even that she really was accusing him of intending on leaving. She didn't fully know if he would. But to leave after becoming angered seemed like a large possibility. Then again, to imply the thought that he would be leaving soon could create confusion in one, regardless of if they had.

Just his posture, really, and speech. It was in a way that implied that he wanted to cut the conversation. At least, out of all the things she was really oblivious to, she wasn't when it came to that.

[clockwatcher]

Although their meeting had apparently taken a turn for the worse, and most of it was due to Demyx’ lack of self-control, for having practically revealed too much information about the Organization, he couldn’t decide on which route to take now. Should he make up some excuse and leave Aysel to ..whatever It is that she does, or should he stay and try and steer the conversation onto another subject, or… An idea entered his mind, that he should leave the area, but allow Aysel to tag along with him; at least, for a short while, anyway. He wasn’t best-friends with her, she was still pretty much a stranger; all he knew about the woman was her name, and that she had taken a swim in the sea. You shouldn’t judge people by their appearance; that, he firmly believed in.

Demyx tilted his head up to as to look at Aysel, who had stepped closer to him, and in turn, forced the Nocturne to retreat even further. As he withdrew from her, there wasn’t a lot of distance to cover, and so he felt a wall at his back; he had walked back into the pier’s shack. He glanced behind him, turned back to her and flashed an apologetic grin. ”Thanks for the offer, but…”
He strode forward, slouched forward with his head down, and walked past Aysel, making his way across the narrow walkway that curved around the stone wall and lead to a short set of steps, which lead to the beach.

”…I can’t.”

His voice had taken on an agitated tone, and he spoke quickly, almost jumbling his words together; the offer was intriguing, for two were better than one when it came to..well, world-wide searches, and the idea nagged at him even as he descended the steps, taking two steps at a time, and was now standing on the beach. He reached up and pulled his hood up, leaving the hood loose and open, so as not to suffocate in the heat, which had gradually worsened, and his breathing was now shallow. He turned on the spot, his boots kicking up sand, and looked back to Aysel.

”It’s no-nothing you’ve done, honestly! I just… what I mean to, to say, is..” The young blond glanced around him. Right, so there was nobody else here. It wouldn’t hurt to allow her to tag along.. at least, for a little while. It’s not as if there were any Superior to deal out punishment for it, either. Demyx frowned, and bit his lower lip thoughtfully. Could he? Should he? He decided to take the risk. His mind now made up, he gestured wildly to the woman, motioning for her to follow him.

”You can tag along for a while, I guess. But you must keep this a secret, alright? If the Superior found out about this..” Demyx shuddered, and shifted weight from one foot to the other, anxious to leave this world and travel to another, one where he would be sure that he wouldn't bump into X-Face, or the Superior.

[Aysel]

It was almost surprising that the man had moved back, as Aysel had attempted to get closer to him. At the same time, she realized that she probably would have had a similar reaction, if he had tried to step toward her.

Demyx seemed a little strange, to Aysel, honestly. Not quite the same as others she had conversed with. But, perhaps, that was something that kept her interested in him. He was also more friendly-seeming than others that the woman had encountered. Always a bonus.

Her body turned, to watch Demyx as he walked past. Was he simply mad at her? That was all she could gather, if he was walking away. A portion of the redhead felt clueless, unable to determine what had really unsettled their conversation to this point. If only she was able to see into the cloaked man's mind, just for a moment, to understand what he was thinking. That would be a convenient ability, in conversation with anyone.

The sudden hand motions by the man almost started Aysel, causing a second of confusion, before understanding began to kick in. Moving along the walkway, she hopped down the stairs, and to the other. "Secret?" The woman didn't think about the word, really, but why it was to be a secret, until she heard the man's final sentence.

Oh. So there would be punishment, possibly, if she was caught tagging along?

The nobody nodded, in understanding, "okay. Secret." It wasn't a hard concept to grasp, that she simply wouldn't be able to tell anybody about this. It wasn't even like it would be difficult for her. She didn't have enough friends to find a need to discuss it with them. Really, if friend was a proper term for many of those that she had socialized with was a good question to place, regardless.

Another good question, but more of a verbal one, "where are we going?

[clockwatcher]

Although he practically had all the time in the world to wait for Aysel’s decision, he never really liked staying in one world for too long, for a number of reasons; one new one being that he did not know the whereabouts of the other Organization members. That was both a good thing and a bad thing. However, Aysel seemed to get the hint, and followed him. Demyx raised his hood over his head, and nodded in reply to Aysel.

”Uh-huh, that’s right- a secret! Don’t go telling anybody about it.”

He turned away from her, and held out one hand in front of him, palm facing outwards; a mass of black and purple shadows swirled upward from the sand, creating an oval-shaped doorway, large enough to fit one person at a time. Demyx had only placed one boot into the dark portal, when he was called back by Aysel. Perplexed, he stared at her, and tried to come up with a less-than-honest answer for her question. Why couldn't she just accept everything that he said, as the truth? She seemed gullible enough.

”Where.? Ahh… That's a secret, too. Can’t know until you.. get there.” He cast her a reassuring grin, with the implication that he wouldn't be taking her to a dark place from which she wouldn't return.

He hadn’t thought of exactly where they were headed, yet. Travel through the darkness shouldn’t be too difficult for Aysel, since she gave off some kind of vibe.. Demyx couldn’t place his finger on it, but he was quite familiar with it, and so it escaped him, at least for the present time. And if she didn’t survive the journey through the dark portal? Well, no one else would have to know about that. Without waiting for her to pile more questions on him, he reached over and grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the dark portal.