kh_drabble | [182] Putting the Pieces Together

Challenge: [182] Puzzles
Title: Putting the Pieces Together
Word Count: 333
Notes: The riddle in the first part is definitely not of my creating.

I.

Here’s a riddle, Zexion says, and she lifts her head from her sketchbook, putting down her crayon.

I run and run yet never flee.
I’m often watched, yet cannot see.
When long I bring boredom, when short I bring fear.
What am I?

He pauses, giving her a moment to guess, but she shakes her head. As far as she knows, anything that can run can escape, and she has no idea as to what the other two could be.

Time is the answer, and she doesn’t understand it then, won’t until she finds herself running to stop Sora from believing her.

II.

It’s all luck, depending on what cards you’re dealt, Luxord tells her as he teaches her to play poker. But after each game he shows her the cards he discarded, explaining his reasons for taking a chance on possibly getting a better hand (because even a pair is better than nothing). He teaches her the tricks of the game, helps her puzzle through decisions of when to take a chance and how to bluff (which she’s horrible at).

She remembers what he said about calculated risks when she finds it in herself to refuse an order from Marluxia.

III.

It’s a jigsaw puzzle, Lexaeus answers her question, spilling the pieces from the box and spreading them out. He shows her how they fit together and tells her that this puzzle is unusual because all the pieces are small pictures that join together to form a larger one. They work together to assemble it, him teaching her start with the pieces that form the border and be careful to not jam pieces together--they should connect easily.

After it’s over, when she’s looking at the fragments of Sora’s chain of memories and wondering how to go about repairing it, the only thing that comes to mind is that puzzle. She picks up the pieces closest to her, and starts to search for the link that will connect them.