[Mingle] The First Official Meeting of the Young Adult Club

[skyward_eyes]

WHO: Nida
WHERE: House 16
WHEN: Evening/Night Monday the 14th
OPEN TO: Mingle: Open too all young adults (22 and younger); Older may show up but expect a testy Nida.
WARNINGS: Young Adults Partying, Possible: Underaged drinking if people bring stuff. If your thread changes ratings, in subject line and DM me so I can update.

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The message goes out over the Network Sunday evening.

'Young Adult Club, First Meet-Up/Party Monday night. First house after the Jail/Barn. Bring Snacks If You've Got Them To Spare.'

Invitation sent in general, The rest, now, came down to Nida. Good thing he had someone who knew how parties worked was right there too. Rinoa turned out to be a pretty good resource. He learned there were a few important things to do for a party. Three major things were needed: music, treats and games. Unfortunately they couldn't do much about the former, so instead Nida employed his housemates in trying to make sure the latter two were covered.



The Nibbles

The easiest person to go to about food turned out to be Seifer. Of the three of them the blonde had somehow ended up as the defacto chef of their house when it came to important things like this. What this meant was a variety of easily made food, things like a plate of half-dollar sized pancakes for easy munching or dipping into other things, fried potato edges, even a quiche that Seifer had managed to whip up, not that Nida even recognized what the whole thing was. While it wasn't as impressive a spread as the New Year Eve party had (or perhaps even the forge gathering) it was clear that the three had done the best they could with the skills two mercenaries and a formerly sheltered young woman had between them. Hopefully treats from other people would help with the spread. Personally, Nida was hoping to steal some of the fritatta Seifer had made in their cast iron skillet, but guests came first of course.



The Games

Games. What even were party games? For that one the center spotlight had gone to Rinoa's planning efforts. Nida had scrounged in the inn's shared supplies, borrowing a set of playing cards and a Jenga set. Not that he really knew what the latter was. The cards went to the dining room table with some extra chairs borrowed from an unoccupied house, the Jenga onto the coffee table, and Rinoa's peakitten Julia got shuffled into her room to prevent her from knocking over the wooden blocks yet again. Nida was tired of rebuilding.




Introductions

They're all new here, they don't all know each other, so Nida and Rinoa encourage people upon arrival to start out simple. And all you have to do is say your name and three facts about yourself. Or, if you're feeling mischievous, two truths and a lie. Can people guess the truth of the matter about you? Or do they already know you well?



Quite Spaces

Frankly Nida wasn't sure how he felt about opening their house to so many people, and with the living room, dining room and kitchen all prepped for use, he realized there was one other thing people could need. A place to talk quietly or just have group games. As he was the only one of the three of them that didn't have much in the way of property and could give up the whole concept of privacy for a bit, the back bedroom ended up having a note pinned on it with a kitchen knife.

'Quiet Space for Your Use - Do not have sex in my bed please'

With his staff stored in the basement and his tiny journal and pencils stored out of sight on top of the standing wardrobe, the room was perfect for anyone who just needed to cool down. Or have a private conversation. Good thing the house has electricity because that could be used long into the night.

Comments

[alittlelonger]

"Oh wow, so where were you that didn't have days and nights, if I can ask?" She'd heard of not having seasons or having worlds different in climate and appearance, but no where yet that didn't have any day or night. But Rinoa is fairly sure that isn't a small talk sort of question, still, Aqua was the one who brought it up,

She tries to remember. "It's a little over two months? I came in early November. It feels like years honestly." Squall and her came together, and then he disappeared, and she's been trying to live every day at a time. And that means focusing on the moment which stretches out time. "I would like it here, if there were a few changes."

[aguidingkey]

"No, it didn't even have a sun and there wasn't really a sky," Aqua answers. Light and darkness aren't really secrets. Most people know the concepts, even if they aren't familiar with the monsters born of them or the keyblade warriors who fight those monsters. "Time doesn't pass there, not like it does here." She always knew that getting back to the realm of light was her ultimate goal while she was stranded and that eventually she would have to adjust to life in the realm of light again. Even so, she's still having a hard time adjusting now. Maybe that's just having been thrown somewhere unfamiliar.

"I understand that feeling." That's kind of how her life has been in the last ten years, except backwards. Years have passed in the realm of light, only feeling like a couple of hours to Aqua. "What kind of changes do you want to see?"

That seems like a safer topic. Better to focus on what's going on here in this realm.

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa stares at her with wide eyes, because honestly, that sounds horrific. No sunlight or sky. No time passing. What was that even like? Endless darkness? It could drive a person mad, but here is Aqua, strong enough to get through it and still be there. She's fairly sure she couldn't handle that; thinking about being stuck in space for eternity was enough to give her nightmares, and that was endlessness too. "I'm sorry, that sounds very difficult." To say the least.

She thinks Aqua might want to talk about something else though, so she'll just go with that. "Oh, uh ...." Rinoa plays with her necklace, where two lion rings hang together. "My boyfriend was here but then went away. He wanted to stay here. I'd like him back." Obviously. Squall said he wanted to stay. "I don't think any of us really know where anyone goes, but I know he didn't leave willingly."

[aguidingkey]

It was enough to very nearly break Aqua and she isn't too proud to admit that. The darkness had crowded in on her, finding the weaknesses in her heart. She was very lucky to have found the image of Terra and Ven in Enchanted Dominion, the imprints of their hearts finding her, keeping her going. Luckier still to have found King Mickey, who told her most of what she knows about what's been happening in the realm of light, and who gave her hope and the strength to keep going.

Her head bows just slightly, her hand subconsciously mirroring Rinoa's, as if by folding her fingers around the air she might feel the wayfinder in her hand again, the symbol of her friendships that she hasn't been able to find since she got here. "It was hard," she admits. "The darkness knows how to find the weak points in your heart. It gets to you after a while, makes you feel like there's no hope." But she was surviving. There was a lot to be said about strong friendships.

Speaking of friendships, Aqua's hand falls back to her side and she offers a small but encouraging smile. "It isn't the same as having him back, but as long as your hearts are connected, you'll never really be apart. You'll always be together and one day you'll really find a way back to each other."

She has to hope that one day she'll find the same is true of herself and Terra. She knows exactly where Ven is and how to find him. He needs to wake up one day, when his heart has found its way back, but Terra... Terra will be harder to track down and help. Aqua has to try anyway. No matter how hard it ends up being, she has to try. One day, she'll find her way back to Terra.

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa really is just blown away at the strength of this stranger. She knows there's nothing in her that could survive the same way. She would've already given in by now, as far as she can tell. She may be underestimating her stubbornness, but she doesn't think so. She gets overwhelmed and dragged down easily, unfortunately. "I honestly can't imagine that. You are a very strong person, I feel like a lot of people wouldn't have been able to handle it, let alone come out as stable as you are right now." To say the least!

"We found each other lost in time and space, it's happened before." No one else could have been able to do that. Rinoa would've searched for him forever. Still, it wasn't the same. "Then we were separated for six years, at least on in his, trapped in different worlds." Seriously, it's making her think that there is never going to be a happy ending for the two of them. Maybe it's not meant to be. Rinoa just looks sad. "But knowing we keep getting through it somehow doesn't make it feel any better without him."

[aguidingkey]

Sometimes even as strong a person as Aqua can founder in the darkness. She remembers what it was like, wandering around those worlds she knew while the darkness clawed at her and her own thoughts were turned against her. If it weren't for King Mickey, she could have easily lost her fight to the darkness. His timing had been perfect, just enough to help her crawl out of her own head. That... and the very brief contact she had with Terra. They gave her something to fight for.

"Strength of heart comes from many things. As long as you have something to believe in, and people who believe in you, you'll always have that strength. Sometimes it just gets buried where it's hard to find."

But she does understand. While Terra and Ven were just her best friends, she feels the same about going through life without them. There is no easy answer, just the knowledge that keeping going is the only thing to do.

"And sometimes... you just need someone else to help you believe. I wouldn't be here without my friends."

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa knows she would give up, because she's done it before. She gave up in space. She gave up on being frozen. She gave up fighting a few times. She also stubbornly searched for Squall, and went back to the others when they were arrested. So it's a mix, but when things got that rough, she didn't fight. There's so much possibility of darkness within her, and she feels it sometimes, along the edges, making her anxious.

"Back home, I have power, and I don't want it. But I can't change that. And it makes things different, for me and maybe for them." It is strange to feel this confessional at a party, but apparently Aqua brought that out in her. "I'm not sure if believing in me is the right call. Other people like me have done the wrong thing because of that power." And yes, her thinking about it, her being aware of it, makes it slightly less likely to happen. It's still there.

"So sometimes I wonder if being a true friend there means not putting myself on them."

[aguidingkey]

Aqua watches Rinoa and for a moment she feels like she's staring at Terra all over again. Was this what he felt? Like there was no one who would listen until the end? Or that he had to keep everyone away for one reason or another?

Most of all she remembers what it had felt like to hear him say he was on his own before he walked away. That was the last time she saw him before the end.

"One of my friends did that once, distanced himself from me and Ven, and all it did was push him further into the darkness. Your friends will want to be part of your life and they can help you with your power." Aqua takes a breath, feeling the dull ache in her that Terra and Ven's losses have left in her. "Believe me. Your friends won't let you go so easily. They'll still care about you and they'll always want to help you."

[alittlelonger]

Aqua's words are helpful, because she needs the reminder, sometimes. Her friends did chase her in space. They saved her from being frozen. They believed in her when she didn't, and still kept doing that now. Maybe some part of her believes it would be better if they let her go, but she doesn't want them to. She smiles at Aqua, shaking off some of her melancholy, because the words do give her power.

"Thank you. I know they will." What a heavy topic for a first meeting! "Here, let me introduce you to other people. You're new and I think I know almost everyone here." Rinoa is a hostess first and foremost, and Aqua needs more friends that will be there for her here too as well as in home. She gestures for her to follow for introductions.

[And wrap!]