Always

When Ven saw Vanitas throw his Keyblade at him, he quickly dropped to the ground to avoid the weapon, rolled towards his opponent to get closer to him, and performed Salvation, hoping to finally hit him.

So has anyone noticed...that it's Mother's Day??

Like, for real? That's awesome, man.

Ven was thrown into the air when Vanitas jumped up and landed a hit on him. He fell back to the ground and groaned, then cast Cura on himself. When he noticed that Vanitas was trying to repeat the same attack, he jumped as high as he could and glided out of the way, determined not to get hit again. If he and Troy weren’t trying to avoid a powerful attack, they would have found the feeling of flying through the air exhilarating.

Sounds healthy. I desperately need the motivation you have.

(Gah! Stupid move! Stupid Vanitas! Still one of my favorite villains, though. ) Ven realized with horror what Vanitas was doing, and when he attempted running from the dark circle where Vanitas was following him, Ven wasn’t fast enough, so he tried to dodge roll out of the way.

(Oh...I realized that Elie is alone somewhere. Yuffie, if you're still online, maybe you could have Elie return to camp and go to bed, or talk to Felix or something. I'm going to bed for real now. Good night! )

“Oh, he does,” Keilani assured Felix. She felt another pang of sadness as she talked about Troy. He hadn’t been gone for very long, but she hoped that he was alright. “Good night, Felix!” She went to her bed and finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

Keilani laughed. It wasn’t quite the answer she was hoping to hear, but Felix was probably right--there wasn’t a lot she could do. Troy would have to figure things out for himself. “Deal,” she replied. “Thanks, Felix.” She turned to leave, then paused and looked back at him. “And just for the record, I’m totally rooting for you and Rebekah,” she said with a grin.

Keilani smiled at the nickname. “Well, it’s this thing with...” she had to pause for a moment to make sure she kept her voice composed. “With Troy,” she finished. “I’ve gotten the feeling that...well, that he feels like he’s not good enough or something. For me, or for anyone. Like he thinks he’s too weak. I think something I said or did earlier today kind of set him off, but I can’t figure out for the life of me what it would’ve been. What can I say to him to let him know that he’s fine just the way he is, and he’s got nothing to prove with strength or whatever? I figured I could ask you because you’re a guy, and might have an idea of what’s going on in his head. I mean, maybe this won’t matter after...the fight with Vanitas...but I still want to know.”

As soon as she was sure the coast was clear, Keilani got up, grabbed the trash bag she had used to transport all the bedding to the campsite, and put it over her head to keep from getting wet. She then walked over to Felix. “Um, hey. Can I talk to you?” she asked.

When Rebekah was done with the first rag, she took each of the other rags, tying most of them around various places on her arms, one around each of her knees, and one around her forehead, which looked incredibly dorky, but whatever, she wasn’t worried about fashion choices at the moment. “Your poor shirt,” she said, shaking her head regretfully. “First chance we get, I’m buying you a new one. And don’t try to stop me!” She smiled as she said all this, then went over to her “bed” and got under the blanket. “Alright, watchman, go to your post. There’s nothing more for you to see here.” She then proceeded to take off her damp clothes, which turned out to be quite difficult while lying down and keeping the blanket over her. The jeans were especially a challenge as they clung to her and she had to struggle to peel them off. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keilani had smiled at Alex when he tried to comfort her. “Yeah...I’m sure he will be,” she said. Then her attention turned to Felix and Rebekah’s interaction, and though it made her ache for Troy, she couldn’t resist quietly witnessing all the cuteness. When Rebekah got under her blanket, Keilani realized what she was about to do, and sat in front of her, blocking the view of the others. Personally, she wouldn’t have cared if other people saw as long as she was under a blanket, because there really would’ve been nothing to see. But it was obvious that Rebekah was a pretty shy person, and she wouldn’t want others to see even that. She turned to look at Rebekah when she seemed to be done. “Want me to take care of those for you?” she offered. Rebekah nodded and handed her jeans and shirt to Keilani. “Thanks.” “No problem.” Keilani set the clothes near the fire to dry. When she returned, she found that Rebekah was already fast asleep with the blanket wrapped snugly around her up to her neck. She hadn’t even taken the wet rags off. Keilani smiled and went to her own bed. She was exhausted, but she was determined not to fall asleep until she had a chance to talk to Felix. Of course, by the time Troy got back, Keilani might not need to reassure him about his being a good/strong enough person anymore, but now she was curious above all else what a good thing to say would be should the need arise. She laid her head on the pillow and pretended to sleep while she waited for everyone else to fall asleep.

Rebekah sighed and couldn’t hold back a laugh. It was too late now, at any rate--the shirt was beyond repair, and she might as well put the newly-made rags to use. “Give me those,” she said playfully, and she took one of the rags, turned away from Felix, and lifted her shirt just enough to tie the rag around her waist.

“Felix!” Rebekah exclaimed with wide eyes. “I didn’t want you to do that for me! Besides, you’re going to get all cold!” She decided not to mention the fact that seeing part of his bare torso made her uncomfortable.

It was the weirdest thing. One moment, Aqua saw Ven and Troy running for the Corridor and apologizing to her and Rebekah, and the next, he and the Corridor were simply gone, and Felix was talking to her. She realized Ven most have cast a Stop spell on her. Aqua let out an exasperated sigh, too angry to talk to Felix or Axel, and let Rebekah take over again. Rebekah was worried about Troy, and she wanted to protect him, but she knew there was nothing she could do now. She accepted Felix’s help. “Thanks,” she said with a sad smile. “I think I’ll take you up on the cold rags.”

(Sorry...we're just an overeager bunch, I guess. We tend to leave each other in the dust sometimes if someone takes a while to respond, unless it's absolutely impossible to move on without them. But if you want, you can have someone else control your characters while you're gone and there's lots of action so you don't get too far behind!)

Aqua. No-brainer.

Fine, if that’s what you want! Ven growled. Troy allowed him to take over, and he rolled over and jumped to his feet. He held his Keyblade in the air and sent a Tornado in Vanitas’s direction.

Yeah, I've definitely considered that, and like you said, I've been hesitant as well. But I've never been much of a hypochondriac or anything. And honestly, if I were to go to a doctor, I would expect him/her not to diagnose me with anything. But there's still that small possibility that lingers in the back of my mind, you know?

Troy felt his legs go out from under him and fell on his back. He then held up his Keyblade in front of him to block Vanitas’s attack, tensing his muscles to roll away at the first opportunity.

(Derp. I completely forgot about that. Just like I had forgotten up until now that Naminé could use Corridors of Darkness. X'D Oh well, I'll let Keilani have her derp moment when she and Troy see each other again.) (I'll do it! This'll be fun!)

Yes, but only the spoiler-free version! http://kh13.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/happy.png

The moment Troy was gone, Keilani turned and finally broke down sobbing, still able to taste his kiss on her lips. Yes, she was confident in his ability to fight Vanitas, but...what if he did? He could be stuck in the Sahara Desert after that! And then what? Die slowly from the heat and thirst? Then something occurred to her. Naminé...you can use Corridors of Darkness, can’t you? she thought. Naminé knew what she was thinking. Though they had such different personalities, it was crazy how in sync their thoughts were sometimes. “Yes...but I don’t use them that much, and I can’t guarantee that I can get us to the same location where Ventus and Troy ended up. Of course, I’m willing to try.” Keilani nodded. She knew she had to stay out of the fight, and she would wait a while before going to help Troy. But it would seem like an eternity before she could get to him.

Hahaha! Well I think Hades has a sexy personality...but that could just be me.

Kanji...so painful... But they make your life a thousand times easier once you've got them memorized.