Work Text:
After a full day of searching between performing his new duties as a union leader, Lauriam was looking forward to some rest. The five of them now lived in the clock tower that once served as their predecessors' base of operations and had a multitude of empty rooms to claim for themselves. Despite - or, rather, because of - the sheer size of the building, they had all agreed to sleep on the same floor, the top being two levels above.
With the exception of Skuld and Ephemer (who had apparently known each other in the real world) the barely acquainted group had selected their bedrooms to be sandwiched by empty chambers for the illusion of privacy. He could only guess at how the others felt about the arrangement now, but the pink-haired keybearer appreciated more close windows for his plants.
A floor below where he wished to retire was the meeting room - what Chirithy habitually kept calling the Foretellers' chamber. It was the most spacious place in the tower, to their knowledge, and also where a certain blunt, hat-wearing hardworker could typically be found.
Brain was brilliant. He was also diligent to a fault. It was only natural that Lauriam, having teasingly been diagnosed with 'Caring Older Brother' syndrome, would want to check up on him.
It was thanks to this small detour that he discovered the chilly antics of their shorter peers. Upon turning the corner from the stairwell, the boy reacted just in time to save Ven from a face full of ice. The Aero spell, however, merely slowed the youngest's fall - anything to encourage these three's bad ideas was a dreadful one itself.
Completely glazed over with solid ice, almost the entire length of the corridor had been frozen wall to wall. Divine Rose was allowed to disperse in a flurry of petals, its wielder crossing his arms with an expectant raise of an eyebrow.
Taking in their sheepish expressions (except Skuld's; hers was anything but), he silently acquiesced that this might be par for the course as far as the fifteen-year-olds were concerned. Granted, the group had met a short while ago but living together, on top of running the town as a group, absolutely accelerated the pace at which they were learning about each other. No-one could miss this duo's penchant for mischief though.
Mischief may not be the right word. While Skuld seemed enthralled by light-hearted tales and the adventures that came her way, Ephemer followed his curiosity wherever it led. Said curiosity seemed to revolve around finding out what was possible. Presumably, that was the reason for this.
Again, the union leaders had known each other for a handful of weeks at best, much of which Lauriam had spent around the other Dandelions, away from the tower. Discovering their mostly harmless plots as often as he had was strange happenstance (because, if the first meetings had proven how seriously everyone was taking their inherited responsibilities, these shows of silliness could not be a regular occurrence, right?) but the oldest would be lying if he claimed not to enjoy stumbling across them. A bit of fun was necessary.
Case in point, the two could sometimes be spotted sailing through the hallways on transient trails of ice, the constant streams of Blizzard spells cast at their feet being weak enough to flake away behind them. It was dangerous, to be sure, but, again, they were fifteen, excited and decently able to care for themselves. Both must be skilled with magic to be capable of it at all.
(Nevermind that Strelitzia was sixteen as of a week ago, incredibly skilled with magic and would never get away without a lecture regardless, especially in a tight space like this. The almost-adult tried not to be overbearing. Nonetheless, things would always be different when it came to his sister.)
'Now might be a good time to intervene,' Lauriam mused, watching Ventus gingerly pick himself up. Though he likely just relished in being included, there were definitely better places and abilities to teach.
"Hey, Lauriam," greeted Ephemer. His fingers twirled the short curls on the back of his neck as he gave a nervous grin, looking for all the world like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar - an apt description if he was at all repentant. Skuld was clearly amused by it, offering no help whatsoever. If not for how fidgety the actual child among them appeared, Lauriam might have kept his silence a little longer, just to tease.
"Please tell me they aren't converting you to their ridiculous ways, Ven." When the youngest started to protest, he added, "The tower is long but not that long. You could all get hurt."
Ephemer was quick to interject. "We're being careful; don't you worry about that!" In an admirable effort to change the topic, the white-haired boy continued, "You said there was something you wanted to look into, right? Any luck?" but Lauriam was not about to let it slide this time.
"Not yet. You two should stop as well. It's only a matter of time before you hit a wall."
And then, predictably, it was three against one.
"But it's so much faster to get around this way!"
"Yeah, so it's not a problem if we oversleep or something."
"And it never hurts to practise our magic control, especially since we can't go on as many missions as before."
"Besides, we've already crashed into the handrail - now we know when to slow down!"
"Which side are you on, Ephemer?"
"Hey! Learning from your mistakes is a good thing! I'm being convincing."
"Please, Lauriam..? It, uh, might be good if... for getting back faster?"
Just the fact that Ven was trying to vouch for them should not have been as convincing as it was. It was odd that they were trying, actually. Perhaps the lot of them had forgotten he held no sway over their lives, else he would not be ignoring how at least one had almost flung themselves down the stairwell. ‘Honestly...’
Upon initially discovering the frozen floorboards, the oldest teen had assumed the little blonde was being taught to ice-skate (sans the skates). Maybe that was true, but it was very obviously not the goal here. Why so much ice then?
As it turned out, the two really were instructing him on that today. Could they not have found a lake or some other open area to practice on? In answer to that question, Skuld proceeded to tell the tale of a young Vulpes girl who had drowned some years ago, when a stream's surface ice had cracked beneath her. The claim that she had heard it from Ephemer, who had heard it from his neighbour who heard it from a friend who heard it from a Moogle who heard it from a friend of the girl's best friend, who was so distraught that they left Daybreak Town altogether, made the veracity of the account questionable at best. Even so, Ven had begun to shake from more than the cold permeating his shoes. Evidently, large bodies of water were out of the question now.
"Horror stories aside though," Skuld barrelled on. "It's not like we're gliding through the sky."
"Which we pretty much figured out how to do, so you don't have to worry about that either," Ephemer finished rather unhelpfully. The 'reassurance' earned him an elbow to the ribs, the strength of it almost causing him to slip. The action was so casual, and Lauriam was suddenly reminded of a throwaway comment made over breakfast a few days ago.
"The two of you partied together, right?" he asked, indulging his own curiosity. By the way they acted, they were indubitably close friends before the war. Still, a group of Keyblade wielders flying through the skies of town would surely have turned enough heads to reach Ursus. Lauriam himself had never joined a party - at most he would tag along with those he ran into - but he doubted such things were the norm. "That wasn't some strange team bonding exercise, was it?"
"No way!" Skuld exclaimed, looking vaguely scandalised. "I'll have you know, I was a very responsible leader!"
That was believable, given how well she had adopted her new role. It would have been more so if not for the unmelting floor, still as close to the oldest's boots as when he arrived. Oh well. Water damage probably meant nothing in the datascape anyway. "So teaching Ven is..?"
"That's totally different. Ven is on equal footing with us and he asked. He wants to learn the sliding trick!" The boy in question looked a bit uncomfortable when Divine Rose's wielder glanced over. Seeing this, Lauriam steered the conversation back slightly while tugging the younger gently off the ice. "So you were doing things like this before teaming up? Since you were on 'equal footing'."
"Actually, when Ephemer joined, that was our first meeting," replied the other member, twisting a star-shaped earring as her gaze drifted. From the brief pause that followed, the pink-haired keybearer imagined it was a memory fondly recalled.
"It was only the two of us for a long time so, when more people began to take interest, it felt more like we were co-founders. Those years... they were some of the most fun I've ever had."
Ephemer leaned in, giving a playful smirk. "Really?"
"You're such a goof!" Skuld chortled, shoving his shoulder. If not for how quickly he latched onto her, their Leader of Leaders (as Brain had - jokingly? - dubbed him) would have fallen for real this time.
Speaking of Brain, either too exhausted to focus or summoned by his housemates dissolving into laughter, the scraping of a chair could be heard beyond the half-opened door to the meeting room, heralding his imminent arrival. A few seconds later, he spoke through a yawn.
"What are you all doing out there?" It came out as a quiet inquiry, nearly lost in the creaky door opening as the teenager, clad in his usual greys, made to join them in the corridor. "This morning's meeting was all for todaAH!"
Too abruptly for anyone to react, his foot slipped right out from under him, and Brain fell straight to the floor. His fedora drifted down next to his head. It did nothing to detract from the shock perfectly visible on his face.
Moments passed in stunned silence. Somehow, Lauriam doubted the bookworm understood that he was sprawled out on the floor yet (or that his favourite accessory was not, in fact, attached to his person). The seconds ticked on before he went to say something. What that something was would forever remain a mystery, however, for, the moment the oldest teen opened his mouth, he was interrupted by a snicker to his left. It triggered another, and the laughter started up again.
Ventus crouched beside their downed friend, hovering nervously while Lauriam attempted to smother his chuckles. Disgruntled and blushing lightly, Brain sat up, levelling a half-hearted glare at the only one present who was older than himself. He ignored the blonde's stilted fussing in favour of reclaiming his hat.
Once his eyes were hidden in its shadow, the boy spoke again. "Well, now that I'm wide awake, might as well get back to those books."
"Oh no, you don't." Lauriam took the opportunity to haul his fellow leader to his feet, all but dragging him away from the room and expansive hazard below.
(Of course, he anticipated the workaholic complaining the entire way up the stairs, but Lauriam had long since mastered the art of selective hearing. The other teen seemed far more fatigued than he was at the moment. He must be hungry too. Alas, the gardener would rather spare himself the extra whining.)
They had barely reached the third step when whispers started around the corner. With a rueful smile, Lauriam turned his head and yelled, "Whatever you're planning, melt the floor first."