I wanted to share a WIP with you all in hopes of getting some feedback before I proceed further into the chapter. Please keep in mind this is not a finish work.
Special Thanks to: Rodin, Luxu, FudgmintGuardian, Not Ienzo and Sephiroth0812 for contributing aspects for this story. I would be lost without their kind contribution to the discussion of how to incorporate some of the ideas on this piece.
Original Description: Terra is disarmed and goes to block an incoming attack and suddenly the only impact he feels is his opponent being pushed back. Terra looks down to see two eerily familiar crimson blades blocking the weapon and in a moment of freaking out warps from his spot to the edge of the battle. Someone tries to calm him down (not sure who will in this case) they touch him without warning and Wham! Pillar of earth smacks up from under them. Instead of who we'd expect, Aeleus approaches and where Terra can see, rests a hand on the younger's shoulder and says a gentle tone 'perhaps we should have had this conversation sooner.’.
Aeleus could feel the disturbance long before his eyes saw the ground tremble. The earth spoke of protecting its own but he could not feel for what the element sought to protect only that it surged under the surface towards the town square. Aeleus was aware that a few of the keyblade’s chosen were there training and felt concern wash over him.
“You sense it too Aeleus? The brimming power building in the distance.â€
“Yes Dilan, though I cannot profess to know what the source may be. I can tell it is not a threat to the castle nor the people; but no more.†Aeleus replied to his companion, taking in the tension set into the other guard’s shoulders.
“We’ll keep an eye on it. I have a feeling this is a conversation we’ve been avoiding, lying in wait to become necessity.â€
Terra felt uneasy when he saw his name pulled from the lottery hat that determined opponents. Though he could not explain why he had this sinking feeling inside, there it was making him regret agreeing to be part of this training tournament that Sora and Ventus put together with help from the Restoration Committee. Terra wondered briefly if he should mention his reservations to someone but it slipped his mind the moment a shock of red hair came into view: Lea.
“Yo, its all fun and games remember. Don’t look so worried. Earthshaker doesn’t still vanish mid-swing does it?â€
“No, it stays the whole time I train now. Thank you Lea. I’m probably just overthinking it. It’s just…Radiant Garden is a sore spot.†Terra admitted as a gentle smile chased the seriousness from his face.
Lea nodded but kept close enough to watch Terra’s body language. The redhead had yet to tell Terra that he’d found him levitating a good two feet from his bed when he went to wake him from a nightmare. Lea had grown pretty fond of Terra and often wondered just how he was so unaware of the power still hidden behind his inhibitions.
“Okay Terra, you’ll be sparring against Leon.†Sora called over, waving the older brunet down. Terra gave a shaky smile as he nodded coming to stand face to face with the other man. Terra took a deep breath, steadying his mind as he pushed out all thoughts but best way to play the match.
Leon eyed his opponent, noting with concern the tension roiling off of his leaner build. It was ill advised to accept a match with someone who was already high-strung but he could see Terra was planning to go through with it. Just as quickly, the tension died down once his keyblade was in hand.
“Don’t hold back Terra. If you pull back too much you can lose control of not just the match, but yourself. Just relax and become part of the flow.â€
“I’ll give it a try…but I don’t make any promises Leon.†Terra said as he found his ready stance. The stance felt off but Terra refused to acknowledge it even as his left hand tried to move out to his side as if it held it’s own blade. Even during training, his body had grown so accustomed to the two-blade system of Xemnas and it terrified him.
Sora and Ventus announced the match and quickly got out of the small arena they had in the square, propped up so as not to disturb the flowers below. Leon charged Terra, blade ready to swipe at the other’s side. Terra reflexively brought up Earthshaker, sparks flying between the blades as he pushes his weight behind the block turning it into a reverse swing using Leon’s own weapon. Leon leapt out of the blade lock, knowing he needed to get the keyblade away from Terra to end the match quickly. That block had shown him all he’d needed to know that Terra was not calm enough to be fighting. There had been a twinge of actual fear in his eyes.
Running around the edge of of the arena to gain momentum Leon charged again, this time his goal was clear: disarm Terra and end the match so they could have a talk. It had been a simple plan but neither expected what actually happened.
Earthshaker went flying but Terra had turned and was about to be struck by Leon’s blade. Terra quickly brought his arms up to try and intercept the blade to keep it from his head only the blade never made contact with flesh. Two sets of wide blue eyes took in the sight of a blade of deep crimson and white energy was between the metal and Terra’s flesh. Terra felt the color drain from his face as absolute horror coiled through his entire body and darted back trying to get rid of the blade only for it’s twin to appear in his other hand.
“Terra?â€
Terra flinched and gasped breathlessly as he felt the world move from under his feet and found his opponents on the opposite side of the square. Terra didn’t remember moving and felt fairly nauseous as his body failed to listen to his plea to relax and calm down. Reasoning with himself was going nowhere, even as he tried to remind himself he hadn’t hurt anyone a tiny voice in the back of his head said: yet. A questioning hand on his shoulder tripped the last wire.
“Terra?â€
It happened quicker than it took Terra to realize that he wasn’t being attacked. The ground quaked slightly as a stalagmite rushed up into the person who had touched his shoulder and he felt everything go still and quiet as his eyes found Aqua curled up on the ground gripping her abdomen as the ground held her up. Terra could feel the tears starting to form in his eyes as he felt his legs backing up against his will.
“A-Aqua, I…I didn’t mean—“
Aqua couldn’t get the words out fast enough to reassure her friend and could only watch as he came close to his flight response. Then she saw someone she recognized approach and place a comforting hand on Terra’s shoulder, the man unfazed by the second pillar that didn’t even budge him. Aeleus gently turned the smaller man to face him, kneeling enough to make eye contact without having to look down.
“I believe perhaps…that we should have had this conversation much sooner.â€
Ideas on what to add, remove, expound, and even change entirely are welcome. If I like/approve the change enough I'll see about posting an updated version of the chapter. I'll even be happy if this is at least interesting though. Thoughts encourage more sharing.
Special Thanks to: Rodin, Luxu, FudgmintGuardian, Not Ienzo and Sephiroth0812 for contributing aspects for this story. I would be lost without their kind contribution to the discussion of how to incorporate some of the ideas on this piece.
Chapter 1
Original Description: Terra is disarmed and goes to block an incoming attack and suddenly the only impact he feels is his opponent being pushed back. Terra looks down to see two eerily familiar crimson blades blocking the weapon and in a moment of freaking out warps from his spot to the edge of the battle. Someone tries to calm him down (not sure who will in this case) they touch him without warning and Wham! Pillar of earth smacks up from under them. Instead of who we'd expect, Aeleus approaches and where Terra can see, rests a hand on the younger's shoulder and says a gentle tone 'perhaps we should have had this conversation sooner.’.
Aeleus could feel the disturbance long before his eyes saw the ground tremble. The earth spoke of protecting its own but he could not feel for what the element sought to protect only that it surged under the surface towards the town square. Aeleus was aware that a few of the keyblade’s chosen were there training and felt concern wash over him.
“You sense it too Aeleus? The brimming power building in the distance.â€
“Yes Dilan, though I cannot profess to know what the source may be. I can tell it is not a threat to the castle nor the people; but no more.†Aeleus replied to his companion, taking in the tension set into the other guard’s shoulders.
“We’ll keep an eye on it. I have a feeling this is a conversation we’ve been avoiding, lying in wait to become necessity.â€
Terra felt uneasy when he saw his name pulled from the lottery hat that determined opponents. Though he could not explain why he had this sinking feeling inside, there it was making him regret agreeing to be part of this training tournament that Sora and Ventus put together with help from the Restoration Committee. Terra wondered briefly if he should mention his reservations to someone but it slipped his mind the moment a shock of red hair came into view: Lea.
“Yo, its all fun and games remember. Don’t look so worried. Earthshaker doesn’t still vanish mid-swing does it?â€
“No, it stays the whole time I train now. Thank you Lea. I’m probably just overthinking it. It’s just…Radiant Garden is a sore spot.†Terra admitted as a gentle smile chased the seriousness from his face.
Lea nodded but kept close enough to watch Terra’s body language. The redhead had yet to tell Terra that he’d found him levitating a good two feet from his bed when he went to wake him from a nightmare. Lea had grown pretty fond of Terra and often wondered just how he was so unaware of the power still hidden behind his inhibitions.
“Okay Terra, you’ll be sparring against Leon.†Sora called over, waving the older brunet down. Terra gave a shaky smile as he nodded coming to stand face to face with the other man. Terra took a deep breath, steadying his mind as he pushed out all thoughts but best way to play the match.
Leon eyed his opponent, noting with concern the tension roiling off of his leaner build. It was ill advised to accept a match with someone who was already high-strung but he could see Terra was planning to go through with it. Just as quickly, the tension died down once his keyblade was in hand.
“Don’t hold back Terra. If you pull back too much you can lose control of not just the match, but yourself. Just relax and become part of the flow.â€
“I’ll give it a try…but I don’t make any promises Leon.†Terra said as he found his ready stance. The stance felt off but Terra refused to acknowledge it even as his left hand tried to move out to his side as if it held it’s own blade. Even during training, his body had grown so accustomed to the two-blade system of Xemnas and it terrified him.
Sora and Ventus announced the match and quickly got out of the small arena they had in the square, propped up so as not to disturb the flowers below. Leon charged Terra, blade ready to swipe at the other’s side. Terra reflexively brought up Earthshaker, sparks flying between the blades as he pushes his weight behind the block turning it into a reverse swing using Leon’s own weapon. Leon leapt out of the blade lock, knowing he needed to get the keyblade away from Terra to end the match quickly. That block had shown him all he’d needed to know that Terra was not calm enough to be fighting. There had been a twinge of actual fear in his eyes.
Running around the edge of of the arena to gain momentum Leon charged again, this time his goal was clear: disarm Terra and end the match so they could have a talk. It had been a simple plan but neither expected what actually happened.
Earthshaker went flying but Terra had turned and was about to be struck by Leon’s blade. Terra quickly brought his arms up to try and intercept the blade to keep it from his head only the blade never made contact with flesh. Two sets of wide blue eyes took in the sight of a blade of deep crimson and white energy was between the metal and Terra’s flesh. Terra felt the color drain from his face as absolute horror coiled through his entire body and darted back trying to get rid of the blade only for it’s twin to appear in his other hand.
“Terra?â€
Terra flinched and gasped breathlessly as he felt the world move from under his feet and found his opponents on the opposite side of the square. Terra didn’t remember moving and felt fairly nauseous as his body failed to listen to his plea to relax and calm down. Reasoning with himself was going nowhere, even as he tried to remind himself he hadn’t hurt anyone a tiny voice in the back of his head said: yet. A questioning hand on his shoulder tripped the last wire.
“Terra?â€
It happened quicker than it took Terra to realize that he wasn’t being attacked. The ground quaked slightly as a stalagmite rushed up into the person who had touched his shoulder and he felt everything go still and quiet as his eyes found Aqua curled up on the ground gripping her abdomen as the ground held her up. Terra could feel the tears starting to form in his eyes as he felt his legs backing up against his will.
“A-Aqua, I…I didn’t mean—“
Aqua couldn’t get the words out fast enough to reassure her friend and could only watch as he came close to his flight response. Then she saw someone she recognized approach and place a comforting hand on Terra’s shoulder, the man unfazed by the second pillar that didn’t even budge him. Aeleus gently turned the smaller man to face him, kneeling enough to make eye contact without having to look down.
“I believe perhaps…that we should have had this conversation much sooner.â€
Ideas on what to add, remove, expound, and even change entirely are welcome. If I like/approve the change enough I'll see about posting an updated version of the chapter. I'll even be happy if this is at least interesting though. Thoughts encourage more sharing.
And Sora an Ven being in charge of the tournament is really awesome too. Love this story a lot already. And everyone was so in character too! <3