thenearshore | closed.

All we have to do is complete the task.

[Like it's a simple, assured fact that they will by virtue of wanting to do so. Roxas watches the world below for a short while longer, and supposes that the last known location is the best place to begin after all.

With that decided, his hand snaps out and catches Add's sleeve so he can teleport them right into the middle of the park. Contact is necessary for that, he thinks, but he lets go once their shoes hit grass]

It was last seen in this area.

[He flinches at the sudden contact, even if it is necessary. Once they're standing in the park he brushes off his arm like it had touched something gross, then takes a few steps forward to put some distance between himself and his god.]

I know that.

I'll follow this path to this end, and you can take the other end. We'll cover more ground that way. [and he doesn't have to spend too much time with Roxas, as a bonus.]

[It's not something he sees fit to argue with, though he is concerned after Add's first day here that he'll manage to fine trouble a little too easily. Easier than he found it in Monad, even, which is more than disconcerting in his mind.

He'll just have to respond more quickly, if that happens]

Apparently it's pink, from the description, so it should stand out.

[Amongst all the greenery, he'd have to imagine they wouldn't have too much trouble spotting it...provided the wallet really was here]

Try not to find any trouble.

[And off he goes in the direction Add didn't pick]

[He makes a noncommittal noise, waving Roxas off as he walks away.

... And he still has a bit of a limp, at that. It's only been what, two days since he recovered from the attack? And he didn't really give himself time to rest much in between...

But resting is a waste of time when there are still things he wants to know and tasks he's expected to do. Even if he'd prefer to slack on this prayer business, he doesn't want to get kicked out for not pulling his weight. Letting a minor injury keep him down would only tell everyone he's weak.

Of course he can pull off an easy job like this, injury or not. It's literally a walk in the park.

He keeps to the path, only wandering off to search nearby bushes or ditches along the edge in case the wallet was dropped there (as much ass he despises crawling around on the ground and getting dirt or bugs all over himself). It is an easy enough job... though he finds himself tiring out rather quickly. His endurance needs work. So maybe he takes some short breaks whenever he finds a bench to "search". There's nothing wrong with that, right? He's multitasking!

There's pretty much no way he's going to finish even half his part of the search before Roxas, though. At least he... tried? Maybe?]

[It might be fortunate for Add that Roxas can cover ground with so much ease. After all, he can just pop up wherever he wants to in this world, with far less limitations than Monad had imposed on him.

Still, for all that, the wallet remains elusive. He treads and retreads his stretch of the park and doesn't turn up any wallets, though he does find a ring he supposes he'll have to turn in somewhere. Shiny rocks are valued, right? He's pretty sure that they are.

Once he's concluded it isn't there, he pops up just a short distance from Add]

It's not in that section of the park.

[If he's got any opinions of Add relaxing on a bench, he doesn't voice them. He does, however, catch a flash of movement and glances upward, watching a bird flit to its nest.

Which leads his attention to land on something decidedly pink and out of place, settled on a leafy bough]

Do you think that's it?

[He points up]

[He jumps up from his seat when Roxas appears suddenly—damnit, he is never going to get used to that. It's hard to tell if he was caught slacking... but either way, it doesn't look like he's mad about it or anything. Maybe Roxas just doesn't care?]

There's still some area left to cover, but so far I haven't found anything either... [Besides some trash, an impressively large beetle, and a lone sneaker.

He trails off as he follows Roxas' gaze to a nearby tree. That is... a very obnoxious shade of pink. Impossible to miss.

If he'd been a little faster, he could've taken full credit for it. He huffs, folding his arms.]

How the hell did it even get up there? Either a large bird, or perhaps someone threw it...

[Then again, they can't be sure until they retrieve it. It's not a huge tree, but it might still take some effort to climb up. And since he doesn't want his god to think of him as useless right now—]

Fine, you found it so I'll retrieve it. Stay here.

[Although Add is taller than him, the branch is probably out of his reach. At least, it seems that way to Roxas as he watches it, trying to gauge distance. His first impulse was to jump and swing his Keyblade at it just as any other key-toting youth would've been inclined to do...

But when Add volunteers he glances in his direction again. After a bout of pointed silence, he has to ask-]

What about your injuries?

[He hasn't forgotten those, and though he'd used Curaga several times over, it seems to him that Add is still on the mend. His injuries aren't as severe as before, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't take it easy on himself for a while]

What about them? They've healed, so I'm fine. You made sure of that yourself. [maybe a touch defensive... and he might still be annoyed at Roxas for basically keeping him under house arrest for the last couple days. He could barely get any research on this place done! So irritating.

Besides that, if he didn't do anything then what the hell did he even come on this job for? Add might be okay with slacking off, but not if it makes him look bad...

He already has mind set on it, so he's going to approach that tree and start looking for a good foothold whether Roxas agrees or not. He can totally climb this tree. They'll be done with this stupid prayer and heading back to the temple in no time!]

[It's true enough that he had doused Add in Curaga spells multiple times, but the concern doesn't wane. He knows that Add's injuries were painful, and though he's not getting any of that strange god-shinki feedback now, it doesn't make the fact any less alarming. Maybe it's just the fact that Add managed to get that injured within a day.

He must've gotten used to his friend exercising a little more discretion, after all that had happened. It was a dangerous thing to be accustomed to now]

Just don't rush. [And get hurt more in the bargain] We found it quickly enough.

[Add? Being reckless? Pshh, of course not!

He grumbles something under his breath in reply, then starts on the task of scaling this tree. It's actually a pretty easy task after all—maybe he did a lot of climbing in his life, though he can't help but be a bit nervous about not having a safety net or something to catch him... hopefully, Roxas would care enough about his shinki's safety to catch Add if he fell.

But that ends up being unnecessary anyway. He pulls himself up onto one of the thicker branches at the top of the trunk, a short distance away from the nest. If he just slides a little closer to it...]

... Ah. [Well, he was about to try and reach over, but he stops mid-way once he notices the nest is occupied. There are several tiny baby birds in the nest, which are now awake and starting to make some noise. The peeping is a bit irritating to him.]

Shouldn't the mother be nearby?

Edited 2016-06-09 22:12 (UTC)

[Roxas watches Add's progress when he clambers up the tree, and he positions himself so that he's close at hand if his shinki loses his balance. It'd be more practical to just break his fall with an Aero spell, but that might also wind up causing unnecessary alarm or damaging the bird's nest. So he simply watches and waits.

At least he knows from experience that he can support Add's weight if it becomes necessary to.

When Add asks that question though, he tips his head and squints at the nest]

That depends on whether she's getting food for them. Are you worried?

[He can't imagine that his shinki wants to risk being pecked by a bird, and there's no criticism in his tone when he inquires... Though that may make no difference]

[Just because Roxas doesn't mean to be critical doesn't mean Add won't read into it like that anyway. He was mumbling that question more to himself, but now he's scowling behind the cover of the leaves.]

Of course not, it's just a stupid bird. [He might be a little worried, just because his eyes are implants doesn't mean he wants to test their durability against an angry bird's beak... but saying that would make him look bad, so forget it. He just has to get this over with quickly.

He still can't quite reach the wallet, though, try as he might. He sighs, then starts to carefully inch himself forward, looking up every now and then to make absolutely sure he isn't about to get divebombed. It's not until he's about a third of the way across the branch that he's finally able to get a grip on the edge of the wallet, though he has to struggle a little to shake it loose from the nest without toppling the entire thing loose.]

Got it. [And he didn't even have to punch a bird for it. Success!

Since he still seems to be in the clear (despite how loud the chicks are at this point, having had their nest thoroughly disturbed) he takes another moment to check the inside...] Hm, it's definitely the right one. The IDs match. [So that just leaves—

A tiny ripped corner of what might have been part of a photo.

Ah.

... it looks like all the paper bills were removed from it as well. But he can see the edge of one poking out from inside the nest. So, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume...

Or he could just pretend he didn't notice and climb back down before he gets assaulted. They were hired to find the wallet, right? So the photo isn't technically necessary...]

I know it's just a bird. Size doesn't have much bearing on pain.

[At least, not in his experience. He doesn't seek an argument with Add though, so he doesn't comment any further on it as he watches him retrieve the wallet. From what he can see some of the wallet's contents seem to be missing, which is unfortunate...although it's true enough that their objective was to find the wallet itself.

Add says the identification matches, so they know it's the right one. It also means that their identification cards are still present, which is one positive thing for its owner. It was a shame if some of the contents really were missing, though]

Do you want any help getting down?

[Phrased quite purposefully, asking whether Add wants rather than needs the assistance. He's never known his friend to be much for admitting when he needed help, unless there was no other recourse. Those times had been few to his recollection, like an occasion during which his bones were crushed and he was left immobile without someone to carry him around]

[... It would be fine to just leave it, right? If he never brought it up, no one would even know. He could just say he didn't notice.

His hunch might not even be right. There's no guarantee he'll find the photo, so going to all that extra hassle without even being sure would be a waste of effort.

Or it could be ripped up or ruined. There are plenty of reasons to justify him giving up here.

... except, he's still hesitating.

After a long, agonizing silence, Add sighs in defeat and tosses the wallet down to Roxas.] Hang on, I'm going to check something.

[He has a feeling he's going to regret this, but he starts to inch himself closer to the nest anyway.]

[The fact that Add is debating something is apparent, at least. It was generally plain, at least to Roxas, when his friend was contemplating something. Being as bad as he was at reading people, it was debatable just what the subject of those thoughts was, but he doubted he'd get an honest answer if he asked.

When Add starts toward the nest, Roxas' shoulders tense by the smallest of margins, but he simply backs up to accommodate for the possibility of him falling as his place on the branch shifts.

Maybe he's noticed something else, though what might have caught his attention is difficult to gauge]

Alright. Take your time.

[Better that he not feel rushed than otherwise]

[The branch feels a lot less stable the further he moves from the base. He's already starting to regret this decision, but at this point it's too late for him to back out. That would just be dissatisfying.

So... he just has to hope it doesn't break. Although, that would certainly make it easier to examine the nest afterwards...

Eventually, he's close enough to see into the nest properly. There are four very fluffy, very upset chicks inside, nestled snugly inside a woven bed of cold hard cash. They are truly the upper class of bird society. He doesn't see the photo.

... Well. He doesn't see the photo yet. Maybe it's buried deeper inside the nest?

Add stalls for several more seconds before sighing again, rubbing the side of his face irritably, and inching himself a tiny bit closer up the branch. Just close enough to reach inside the nest. This is a godawful, stupid idea, but he's going to do it anyway.

The distressed peeping intensifies as Add infiltrates the nest, feeling around for any edges of paper hidden underneath the chicks. He tosses down a couple ripped bills as he goes.]

[From where Roxas stands, all he knows is that Add has gone straight for the nest. He waits quietly, watching his friend-turned-shinki apparently go through the nest for something.

When bits of paper drop down, he catches those, turning them over for inspection. This world's version of munny seems easy to lose, but he knows it should belong in the wallet that they've located, so he'll keep those bits of paper until he can replace them.

Although...]

These are fragmented, aren't they?

[This world's currency was bigger than this, he's rather sure. Was this the sort of thing Add was trying to find, or something else?]

Do you have a head buried inside that hood of yours or is it just for show? [It was either that or a sarcastic "no, they obviously came this way"...

He's not going to give Roxas any more of an answer than that annoyed reply, anyway. He's concentrating on the task at hand, trying his best to sort through the nest quickly without tossing anything that's alive. At least he doesn't have to worry about getting his fingers pecked since he's wearing gloves, though it still doesn't change the fact that he's probably touching feces in there somewhere. Eughh.

He'll have to make sure to wipe down and wash everything thoroughly after this is over. Maybe take a bath for good measure.

Caught up in his thoughts about hygiene, he nearly tosses another ripped piece of paper down to Roxas before he gets a good look at it. He stops himself just in time, holding it up to his face.

A small portrait—but only half of it, with the head cut off at the top.

He sighs again loudly, though he's as relieved as he is annoyed. He carefully bends down against the branch to hold the tiny piece of paper out to his partner.]

We might need to pick up some tape on the way—

[He's cut off by the piercing screech of a very, very angry bird.

Add only has a split second to react (he wisely chooses to spend his time staring in horror) before his head is assaulted by a hurricane of feathers, pecking, and clawing. He swears under his breath, trying to duck down, but he's already pressed up against the branch and can't go down any further without falling out of the tree. He loops one arm around the branch, desperately trying to swat the bird away from his face with his other hand. All of this flailing is making the branch shake, which only further upsets the chicks and their furious mother.

At this point, any sane person would start making an escape plan or just jump out of the damn tree. That would be the logical thing to do.

But... Add isn't about to give up, especially not after he's put so much needless effort into this.

So instead, he's just going to keep swatting at this stupid bird while he tries to come up with a way to find that last piece of photo. He might be considering the previously discarded plan of "just flip the entire goddamn nest" at this point.]

[The snide remark rolls off of Roxas easily enough. It's the sort of thing he has to accustom himself to, and he's well aware of that, so he doesn't respond. At least he has enough experience with lost memories to not take it as hard as others might, though that bitterness in the pit of his stomach seems intent to stay regardless.

Making a friend and losing a friend...it's a pain he's familiar with, but now it's uniquely his, rather than borrowed from another. That's one experience he wouldn't have wanted for himself, but there's nothing for it but to accept it.

That, and to hope that Add can be happier in this world than in the ones he'd known before.

The angry bird that's intent to peck him into next week seems inclined to disagree, and Roxas is left to stare as Add just clings to the branch rather than letting go. It doesn't make sense to stay up there when it's obviously the reason he's continuing to get attacked]

Add...you should get down.

[Just a touch of concern creeping into his flat voice]

[Wow, do you think?]

Shut up! [You know Add is at the end of his rope when he doesn't even have the energy to make a sarcastic remark. He hisses out a few more half-swears, still stubbornly refusing to climb out of the tree. He is finishing what he started, damnit.

He gives up on swatting for the moment, using his hand instead as a shield against the bird's attacks. He is very thankful for how bizarrely armoured this suit is, even if it's probably going to be scratched all to hell after this is over. While the bird is occupied with the guarded side of his head, Add slowly starts to shift himself back upright again, scanning over the nest with his one visible eye.

... Ah! He can see the edge of something poking out between two of the chicks. Something that got pulled up when he grabbed the first piece of the photo? He shouldn't get his hopes, up, butoh god the bird figured out the other side of his head is unprotected

That sound Add just made probably wasn't very dignified, but to be fair he got a literal earful of angry bird and that would make anyone upset.

Becoming increasingly desperate, Add decides to just make a lunge for the nest, trying to swap hands at the same time so he can swat the bird away from the other side of his face. In his mind, he does a smooth, seamless hand switch to keep himself from losing balance, then smacks the bird aside before snatching up the photo and then maybe swinging himself down to the ground for a perfect landing. It all probably looks very cool and easy.

In reality, he loses his balance almost immediately after letting go of the branch, flails pathetically to grab hold of it again, and gets pecked in the eye when he tries to grab the paper (mental note: his eyes are bird-proof, but it still hurts like a bitch). Half-blinded, he grabs one of the chicks instead. It makes a shrill noise to alert him of his mistake.

... Well, in a weird stroke of luck(?), snatching the chick causes the mother bird to attack his hand instead, so for a brief window of time he can kind of see what he's doing. He snaps up the bit of paper and grips in tightly in the palm of his hand before pulling back, preparing to swing down from the tree.

Okay, yeah, no, he doesn't trust himself to actually jump down from this tree without breaking something. Instead he just... cautiously backs up to the base of the branch, still warding off vicious bird attacks.

He'll climb down on his own. Eventually. Probably...]

[Okay, this is getting painful to watch. Not to mention, Roxas is getting that strange shinki-feedback every time Add gets pecked by that mother bird. While it's minuscule in the scale of things that hurt, it's nevertheless annoying to get those little stabs of discomfort over and over. Not to mention, he knows it means Add is hurting.

And that much is enough to evaporate his patience almost instantly, prompting him to summon Oblivion. He holds the black Keyblade aloft and mutters wind, prompting an Aero spell to whisk the bird around in a contained cyclone, something that leaves it with a disorienting status effect.

It won't last forever, but it should do for now]

Let's get out of here, Add.

[The tree is seriously not the most hospitable of places to be right about now, and that spell's effect will be brief. Roxas dismisses his Keyblade, holding his arms out as though he expects Add to just hop down and be caught]

[At least the bird is out of his face, but wow, a contained hurricane in the middle of a tree! A wonderful idea! There are now leaves and smaller branches whipping all over the place. Awesome.

Of course, Add clings to his perch even harder, not even considering the option of leaping from the branch and into his god's arms. He wraps one arm around the trunk, the other still gripping the branch he's sitting on. He is not moving an inch from this spot.

While he's waiting for the wind to die down, he carefully feels for the bits of photo in his palm. If he lost those now after going through all this trouble...

But he still has them, so that's good. Now he just has to climb back down.]

You're not helping, cut that out! [he says, ignoring the fact that the disoriented bird is now busying herself with calming down the chicks, so Roxas' interference kind of did help a lot...] If you want to go so badly then just go! I'll catch up with you. [He still has the photo, so either way he'll be the one finishing this job properly.]

I'm not leaving you behind.

[It's not an argument or a debate, it's a simple, flat statement of fact. He hasn't any intentions of leaving Add here without any help. This task is one they've both taken on, and so even if he had no other reasons he'd remain for that much.

And that's about the only reason he could actually tell Add, if he needed to provide an excuse for his refusal to leave]

And that bird's leaving you alone now, isn't it?

[At least for the time being, it seems Add isn't getting pecked and squawked at, which seems like an improvement as far as he's concerned]

[He huffs, adjusting his grip on the tree again once the wind dies down. The bird still looks pretty pissed off, but it seems to be satisfied with screeching at him from afar now that he's not touching the nest. Success...?

Anyway, it looks like Roxas is going to wait for him. Probably because he doesn't trust Add to do anything on his own, considering his track record so far. Well, he'll just have to keep proving his worth until he can relax. That's all he really can do to avoid getting fired as a shinki. He clicks his tongue, facing towards the trunk to try and find a good foothold.]

You're distracting. Stop talking so much.

[Very, very carefully, he starts to unhook his legs from around the branch, manoeuvring them to test his weight against one of the smaller branches below. He user that one to climb up, right...?]

That branch is brittle.

[Did Roxas hear Add tell him to be quiet? Sure he did, but that doesn't seem to be discouraging him from speaking here and now. From his vantage point he can see better than Add can what's below him, and naturally that means he's going to warn him before he steps on a branch that's too thin to support his weight.

He's never considered his friend particularly heavy, but a little branch like that is bound to snap if he uses it to get down... And he'd rather Add didn't get hurt by something entirely avoidable.

Having said that, he steps aside to give him room, pointing out a different branch]

That one should be better.

[He stops, then looks over his shoulder to shoot Roxas a glare. Seriously? He just said to be quiet!]

I think I'd remember how I got up here in the first place, thanks. [So screw your advice, Roxas. He knows what he's doing here. Which is why he's now trying to reach around for that other branch Roxas pointed out, because Add totally saw it first and just wanted to try one of the closer ones. Yeah.

But just as he's getting his footing again, he starts to feel a wave of dizziness coming on. He freezes in place, still hugging the tree tightly but unwilling to try and move further down. It doesn't feel like vertigo or anything like that... maybe he just overexerted himself...?

... if he waits a bit it should pass on its own, right? He takes in a deep breath, trying not to think too hard about it. He'll just wait here until he feels better... it'll probably only take a few more seconds...

Any moment now... really...]

I just have a better vantage point.

[It's no surprise by now to Roxas that Add found a way to take an attempt to help personally. He doesn't try to argue with it or clarify beyond that much, simply waiting for him to make his way down.

But that seems to be taking a while, as his shinki simply idles where he is as though he's decided he'll just stick to the tree after all. He tips his head to one side curiously as he observes this, speculating what Add is doing...

After a time, though, he summons a Keyblade again, holding it up.

A burst of glittering green light showers on Add, much as it had back when they'd encountered Hibari. Perhaps Add was still ailing and needed a healing spell? That's Roxas' best guess]

[Now his head is really killing him... but the green sparkles aren't helping with that. Well, at least it makes all his scratches hurt a bit less. A slight improvement.

He sighs, pressing his forehead against the bark. He's still clinging to the tree.

Maybe if he's just really careful...]

Fine. You can see better, so advise me. [He relents, at least a little. Honestly, he doesn't even want to keep his eyes open right now, so the less he has to divide his attention with the better.

A bit shakier than last time, he starts feelings around for another foothold.]

[The spell doesn't seem to have alleviated the problem. At least it helped his cuts, but whatever's got Add moving so slowly reminds him of that time the stairs threatened to flicker out from under them. This world doesn't have glitches so far as he knows...

So what was wrong with him?

Roxas supposes the first order of business is helping him get down, dismissing his Keyblade and stepping a little closer to the tree - but not enough to crowd his shinki.

He just wants to be close at hand in case he falls]

The branch just below your left foot should be secure.

[He doesn't answer, but he does slowly move down to the branch Roxas indicated. He still doesn't feel any steadier, but at least he's starting to make his way down. Maybe he'll feel better once he's standing on something more solid...

Actually, isn't this dizzy feeling kind of familiar? It's impossible to place, but he's sure this is something he's felt before... and he's sure it's something that will pass, even though it came so unexpectedly. Is this something he's experienced often? There's no other way for him to explain how certain he feels about it.

Was he always in such bad shape when he was alive? Either that, or...

... no, something like that wouldn't make any sense. Why would illness in a living body carry on into an "afterlife"? He's probably just stressing himself out too much.

He's only a few more steps away from the lowest branches, so it shouldn't be much longer now. He tests his weight on another branch, but it creaks a bit too much for his comfort. Add pauses, waiting for more direction.]

[Roxas waits until Add pauses, taking a few moments longer to decide he's waiting for more information. He looks the branches over before pointing out one that juts out by his shinki's right ankle with a black-gloved hand]

This one's sturdier.

[Add's not too far from getting down now at least, which is fortunate. It's easy to forget how high he'd climbed up to get to that bird's nest, but he's quite aware of it now.

And here he'd never known that Add was good at climbing trees.

If getting down was the challenge that made him sort of like a cat, didn't it?]

[He sighs, having to twist himself around a little to get his foot over to that branch. It's a bit awkward...

Anyway, it's not like he has trouble climbing down from trees! This is obviously an exception. He just got worn out from fighting a bird and walking around all day, that's all!

The entire process ends up taking much longer than he expected, but eventually he runs out of branches to use as footholds. There are a couple small knots he might be able to get a grip on, but... the easiest way down from here would be to just jump. He's close enough to the ground now, it's unlikely he'll damage anything on the landing.

But it's hard to say how much of a "landing" it's going to be, in his current state...]

... Move back a bit. [Roxas is still standing way too close. What if Add landed on him? Embarrassing. It's not like he'd catch him.]

Alright.

[Roxas had, of course, fully intended to catch Add if it was needed. But when asked to move away, he does - though he could easily close that distance again were it needed. He can tell something isn't quite right with his shinki, even if he isn't entirely too sure what it is.

Could it be from when that bird hit his eye? It seems possible, although he doesn't know enough to be certain of it. And he couldn't tell Add about it if that were the case, could he?

These circumstances are incredibly inconvenient, in some ways...]

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writes all these long tags about add fighting a losing battle with a small bird

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