[254] Expressions of Love: Rose Window

[minntaka.livejournal.com]

Challenge: [254] Expressions of Love
Title: Rose Window
Word Count: 593
Rating: G
Spoilers: Possibly minor spoilers for BbS
Notes: I promised myself not to indulge in drabbles so much, but unfortunately, I am a sucker for paternal love :)

 

Rose Window

 

Terra and Ven will never know, but the idea of making wayfinders manifests when Aqua misfires a magic spell and it shatters a stained glass window. The concept – and the warm recollection of reading a legend about it – hits her as she stares at the jagged shards of translucent glass and realises she can still see the rose window, even in separation.

Master Eraqus clears his throat, and Aqua says, a few seconds too late, "I apologise for my carelessness, Master."

They agree to postpone training so that she can clean up; yet, as though she is five years old again and sneaking leftover dumplings back to her room, she keeps the shattered glass. She pores over the scraps, like a greedy magpie seeking optimal efficiency.

There are enough colours to work with. She chooses the flawless emerald shards that remind her of ruffled grass and the rushing west wind; elegant bronze that whisper to her of strong, earthy plains carrying the breeze; and relentless cornflower blue, like the calm and storm of a sweeping tide.

She uses the firm but pliable silver wire to make the wayfinders' exoskeleton. Her fingers shake with the concentrated effort of handling delicately, carefully, stretching the seconds – she is more used to being sharp and swift – and Aqua wonders, especially as her index slips and skims the razor edge of one shard, if she has overstepped her limits. It isn't the first time she has succumbed to the noetic, nearly-mystical notion that her actions and thoughts now will literally shape their future.

We will stay together, she decides, working the gleaming scraps of green into a star. I will protect the ones I love, and I will do everything within my power to keep them safe.

Aqua uses spare cord – from a forgotten-until-now drawer of childhood swords and components – and she slips the wayfinder onto the eternal hoop. The final, tightening knot burns her palms in thick red lines. Once or twice, the quintupled star warps at her unintentional strength and she has to start over. Her lap is marred with cutting grains and frayed thread; and caught between determination and resignation is how Master Eraqus eventually finds her.

She waits for criticism, or the subtle advice to put her remaining time before the exam to good use, like Terra (she can hear the solid sound of his Keyblade cutting the air, and Ven doing a running commentary). Instead, the Master sifts through the worn box and picks a pebble sized Mark of Mastery, and says, "As with many aspects, a keystone is essential for balance."

The Mark holds the wayfinder's shape; Aqua discovers the silver ribbed glass can arc naturally round the symbol of aspiration and home. The task becomes easier and the object draws more parallels to the folklore that inspires her. Their shape reminiscent of the paopu fruit that binds friends, their source the rose window that can shatter across worldly distances and remain whole, Aqua creates three wayfinders to promise their togetherness.

She glances up gingerly (because she is still the little girl in awe and respectful of the Master's shadow) to ask if a potential Keyblade Master is allowed to succumb to whimsical magic charms, but he has already left – perhaps to respond to Ven's yelp of surprise as something splashes into the pond. Aqua studies her fingers, and discovers they're without cuts or scrapes, just nimble and shivering in the wake of a curing spell at Master level.

She reaches for old and refined silver shards, and starts on her fourth.

 

Comments

[kiaxet]

The last line was where I teared up. You have them all down perfectly and this is heartbreakingly sweet and I may just cry. Just. Sob this family ;~;

(Though I do have to ask if Terra threw Ven into the pond, if only because that's right where my mind went at that line.)

[minntaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading! ♥ I wasn't 100% sure on Aqua's character but I'm glad you liked it. Your icon btw is absolutely gorgeous! I need to look for some icons of those three XD

(It was meant to be Ven falling into the pond of his own accord, but Terra could equally be to blame.)

[kiaxet]

You don't need to worry - you have her (all of them, actually) absolutely spot-on. That icon is one of my new favorites - I just camp at kh_icons and look at just about everything that comes through. I'm picky, but it's well worth it.

(I was picturing Ven making some snide remark in his commentary and Terra tossing him into the pond for it, tbh. |Db)

[minntaka.livejournal.com]

Oh wow - I will have a look-see at that comm then :) Thank you!

(Ah, I like that idea~~! ♥ You are much more imaginative than me ^_^)

[synchroshatter.livejournal.com]

This is really beautiful- I love how intricate the whole process is, because it gives so much more to the Wayfinders than just "Here, present!". And the ending is just perfect. I like the idea of Eraqus having one too, poor guy must be a bit left out otherwise.

(You know, the bit about Ven's running commentary has now started spawning a new headcanon fact in which Ven takes to narrating his life... XD)

[minntaka.livejournal.com]

This is pure headcanon, since wayfinders just remind me of stained glass windows, and when I saw that the training room in the Land of Departure has one, it was like a lightbulb that wouldn't switch off XD Unfortunately, I'm still a bit new at writing Aqua so I was pretty nervous about posting this up!

I swear at some points in BbS, Ven does actually talk to himself. I think Terra does too XD