Mirror, Mirror... [Roxas/Ventus]

The waves here always managed to calm the small blond. He sat upon the shoreline, taking in deep breaths of the salty air, having odd memories return to him that he couldn't quite claim as his own. As he was inside of Sora's heart, a lot of things that he had felt had become connected to things Sora had experienced. During that time, he was able to learn a lot about himself. He understood why he found such comfort in this place and why the sea made him happy. He was able to conclude that seashells meant so much to him not only because of Xion, but because in his life as a somebody, he had grown up around them.

The foamy waves splashed up over the sand, and the eyes that matched the oceanic color watched intently, his mind in deep thought about all the things he had been through in the past. It was truly odd to think about how so much had happened in so little time. It had only been a year in the Organization and things had gone downhill so fast. And then he was joined with Sora for not too long until.. The split. One of his hands move to his chest to grip at his black vest, not having his Organization cloak with him today. He was sick of wearing the heavy thing, and it wasn't good at this point to advertise the fact that he was part of the disbanded Organization. Little did he know about Marluxia's plot to bring it back together, however - there was much in store for him, but for now, he simply stared at the waves.

Roxas brought his knees to his chest, arms wrapping around them and clutching them close. He wished, for a moment, that he wasn't here all by himself, but in a way, the silence was healing to him. He was able to think about everything that had happened recently and begin to make sense of it all. He still didn't know why he was brought back in the first place, but something that Axel had told him was weighing heavily on his mind; they were brought back because something they were tethered to, or connected to, was strong enough to keep them here. That thought brought a smile to his face, remembering how he and his two best friends would share ice cream while staring at the sunset, talking about the dumbest things that making each other laugh. It was days like that.. That made Roxas feel as though there was something he was truly connected to. Axel and Xion made him feel as though the lacking of his heart was nothing but a fragmented dream - even just thinking about them made that awful emptiness become less and less important to him.

It was.. Peaceful.

The islands were a place he could remember visiting so long ago now that he couldn't really believe it had been ten years. Even seeing the way things had changed everywhere else, he had remained the same from back then. It was startling to say the least as he walked along the beaches, just taking in the sunshine and the relaxing atmosphere. Bright sky-blue eyes scanned the beach in front of him and he stopped dead when he spotted his mirror image once more. For a moment he considered backing off and retreating back in the direction he had come from. 

Instead he found his feet carrying him toward the other, until he was settled in the sand next to him looking over at him with those big, innocent eyes. 

"Um... hey.... I...." 

He paused, realizing he had no idea what to say to the other. He rembered all of the things that he had been told by the other, about them being Nobody's and technically heartless and emotionless. Ventus found that so hard to believe though, no one could be completely empty. He'd learned that about both himself and Vanitas, though he couldn't quite remember how he knew that about Vanitas. Something was still missing in his memory, but he couldn't place what. 

He finally found his voice again, realizing he still hadn't said anything," I wanted to apologize.... for Vanitas. He's....not really a nice person most of the time, especially to strangers. I'm sorry he threatened you." 

The other blonde slowly reached out, brushing his hand against Roxas' slowly before squeezing it apologetically. 

Ventus dropped his hand after that, back into the sand before he shifted his gaze out into the clear waters," This place.... does it calm you to?" 

He was brought back into the real world when he felt a presence next to him, settling comfortably in the sand. He had turned away from the beautiful backdrop to see who it was, only to find that he was gazing into a mirror. He had met this person once before, and he was accompanied by that golden-eyed hellion who was definitely keen on being the trouble-maker of the bunch. Although he seemed troublesome, Roxas felt a strange understanding when it came to Vanitas. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the three of them were connected, as well as the main link, Sora.

"Aah, it's nothing." He said calmly, turning to look back out at the waves. They were endless, apart from the mainland that could be seen standing tall and proud in the distance a little to the west.

This place... Does it calm you, too?

With odd reasoning behind it, Roxas found himself in a state of shock. He hadn't ever thought that this world could be related to more than just he and Sora, but it turns out that Ventus had some history with Destiny Islands as well. This world was beautiful, the temperature being a consistent warmth but it never got too sweltering, making it no short of paradise - of course anyone with a brain would find this place to be a little more than enchanting, but to find someone else who found comfort in it the way he did...

"Y-..Yeah." The keyblade wielder responded carefully, releasing the hold he had on his knees to situate himself, crossing his legs under each other and resting his arms atop his thighs. He knelt over slightly, shifting the angle of his neck to keep his gaze locked upon Ven. "One time, I got sick for a few days and one of my best friends brought me a seashell from here every day. She left them on my bed." His tone was filled with melancholy, though he tried to shake himself of it immediately. He didn't have to be focused on things like that at the moment - he was able to actually talk with someone who was obviously so much like him. Physically and mentally.

"This is where he grew up - Sora - I mean." Roxas was never really the most articulate when coming up with conversation, though he usually, more or less, found a way to get his initial point across. "It's weird.. I used to resent him so much and I told myself that I would find a way to be my own person. To be better than him." It felt so strange opening up to someone so easily, though it felt as though he wasn't meeting someone at this moment, but was talking to a friend he'd have for years. "But when I saw him..." Roxas trailed off before taking in a deep breath and allowing it to exhale in the form of a sigh.

"I realize that I was wrong."