wake me up i n s i d e [open]

[Amber]

Traverse Town... It'd been a while since the real residents had
started moving back and things seemed to be back to normal.
Only somebody that was looking for the differences would be able
to identify the changes. The way the people walked with a slight
hunch, a twinkle in their eyes looking for villagers from other
worlds to show up and and somebody to be whisked away to yet
another location. Sophie couldn't say that she pitied them, but
she did understand what they were looking around for. When she
had been little, she had been shoved away from her world. She
was lucky, however, since she later realized that she could use
the shadows for travel.

Sophie wasn't in the mood to be snarky at the moment, her last
shadow trip had mentally drained her, and she wouldn't under-
stand her own comments at that rate. She tucked her blonde hair
behind her ear, a flash of silver the only sign that she was holding
something up her sleeve. Her latest prize was a small silver knife.
It didn't replace her dao, but at least this one was less visable
than her other option. It would be easier to accomplish her job
when she didn't have people eyeing her dao and backing away.
Even in her home town it was hard for her to fit into the crowd,
since she had been gone for a long time without
being in the town.

Last time she was here, everybody had been still moving back.
They had their own memories from the old world, and the small
helpless girl from before seemed an insignificant speck on their
adventures. Of course, she wasn't just a girl anymore, but nobody
would be able to tell the difference. She was just Sophie Christiana
the little girl who never got in trouble, and would never hurt a fly.
This girl was far from being her old self, and she was desperately
in need of someone to talk too, even if it may be just a lonely
spirit. It would be anything better than this intense boredom she
was now facing.

[Tonaki]

The sky was bright, the sun breaking through the few scattered clouds which seemed to dot the sky. It was a quiet day, unlike many a day on a world such as Traverse Town. For a town nestled between light and darkness, it seemed the darkness took quite the liking to it. Though it was not Radiant Gardens, infested with the heart-hungry creatures, but it was by no means a sanctuary. A dumping ground for the homeless, and a playground for the Heartless...Quite the odd world Traverse Town was. Despite the existing danger, many people still called this place home. Then again, not that many of its residents had much of a choice in the matter, having no way of leaving if they so chose.

An appeal for characters of all types, Tonaki as well as anyone else knew the fatal mistake in a place like that was a lack of care or attention. It was no safe-haven, and demanded vigilance. He had lived here long enough to know what it took, and lived in the shadows long enough to understand just what existed there. It had been quite some time since he had the chance to visit his makeshift home of years past. And he would discover that today was a day to reminisce.

There was a flash of light in the alleyway of the second district, visible even in the light of the day. As it faded, as quickly as it had started, a body was now present in that deserted alleyway. Eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the level of light present in this very familiar place. Shaking his head he chuckled lightly. He had gotten better at controlling his movements across the worlds, though his sword would certainly rebel every so often. As it had done this time. It wasn't as inopportune a screw up as it had been in times prior. He was not being thrust into the midst of a battle, or an argument, nor was he dropped off without solid ground beneath his feet. All in all, no complaints. Stepping from the shadows Tonaki made no serious effort to make conscious his surroundings. Perhaps it was because he knew this world so well, or perhaps he simply sensed no danger. Whatever the reason, he looked to be entirely at ease.

He strolled slowly along the streets, watching as the children passed, and adults would pause to view the visitor before returning to the tasks at hand. It seemed some were still moving in everyday. Tonaki could not remember a time when he did not see at least one person new to the town. He always assumed that to simply be a part of the town's identity, new people each and every day. As he walked he was reminded of many events he experienced during his stay there; memories good and bad alike. Everything seemed quite peaceful for a time, and it almost seemed odd to Tonaki, having yet to even notice a single Shadow limping around. This, unfortunately, didn't last as long as he had hoped.

Without much warning there were pools of darkness suddenly forming in front of him. He heaved a disappointed sigh as he reached for the handle to his sword.

"Damn...of course."

He could see the piercing, yellow eyes rising from the street, taking form. Shadows, Neoshadows, and Soldiers were suddenly present in a rather large number. They stood silent for a moment before lunging lustfully towards the young man's heart. Tonaki bent over and pulled his sword from its sheath violently, allowing it to swing forth and take out the first advancement of Heartless. Retracting his arm he pulled the sword back and held his stance, noticing the Heartless encircling him now, in an attempt to overtake him. Wishing not to spend too much time, he slashed out at three Shadows as they lifted off the ground, and jumped up as one Soldier attempted to take out his legs. As he looked to land her saw a Neoshadow behind him, and chose to springboard off the creature, launching him into the air. He turned around and faced the circle of Heartless, stretching his blade out before him. It became engulfed in a ray of light, fading to reveal a rather...different weapon. Without skipping a beat the tip saw the growth of a spherical collection of energy. It grew to a rather immense size before taking off, like a rocket, from the blade's tip, smashing into the ground within the Heartless circle, detonating with greater force than Tonaki had planned.

Crap, that's too much energy," he cringed, crossing his arms in front of his face, expecting the force of the blast to change his direction quite suddenly.

He was right. As the sphere detonated, the entire district experienced a bright flash of light, and a blast with enough force to halt Tonaki's downward movement, and throw him the other way, back into the air. He knew this would not end well as his flight, emulating a shooting star, took him over the gate that separated the first and second districts, and found him plummeting towards the ground. Thinking quickly he tossed his sword to the ground as he neared it, then going into a roll after making contact with the ground, like a trained jumper. As he slowed down, knowing he had a voided a possibly deadly fall, he picked himself up and dusted himself off. Walking over to his sword he sheathed it while doing his best to not mind the few speechless bystanders who witnessed his odd arrival into the first district.

[Amber]

Sophie sighed, running her hands through her
hair as the town seemed as boring as it ever was. All the people
here seemed a bit too distracted to bother with the small girl
that was her, and she couldn't spot any old friends. They were
all travelers anyways, so she couldn't have expected anything
better from them, could she? They'd be gone before she got a
chance to befriend somebody, and then she'd be faced with this
impecable boredom. She made a mental note to take a longer
wait between visits to her hometown, so that it seemed at least
partially interesting when she arrived. It would once be said that
she was excited to see her home again, but this was a lie now.
Nothing interesting happened here...

Her mind had been about made up to try another world travel,
get away from this impending doom, when she heard something
a bit of the ways down the street. Her cat ears flickered,
instantly interested in the sound, her tail swishing as a cat does
when they feel a bit of a threat. Maybe I could go find the
commotion real quick, her thoughts said, and in that instant
she felt her leg muscles bunching, all of them working together
with a fluid ease, as she sprang forward and caught onto the
lowest edge of the nearest roof. Pulling herself up with the
inertia, Sophie landed with a cat-like stealth. It seemed to come
with the deal of being part cat and all.

She closed in just as she saw the shadows take form, yellow
eyes piercing through the land, and Heartless in numbers took
form. As they assembled, Sophie took the moment to look for the
hero of Light that brought them to come and attack. Her eyes
narrowed on the young, or not so young seeing as he looked a
few years older than her, hero that pulled out a sword as soon
as one of the Heartless attacked. She watched it's deadly
elegance arch into the air, taking out Shadows and NeoShadows
quickly. Her looked rather experienced at his fighting, much like
she imagined herself to be if she fought the Shadows. No, even if
she wanted too, she probably wouldn't attack a Heartless. She
considered herself one with them.

The boy launched back out of the ring that encircled him, aiming
his sword. She was curious as to what he was going to do when
a bright sphere launched at the circle of Heartless. Before it
landed, bringing on the flash of light that would disenegrate the
Heartless easily, Sophie ducked down behind the first edge of
the roof. She nearly lost her footing at the faint sound of the
explosion, but she quickly caught on and pulled herself to see
the young hero walking away from his handy work, though he
was now in a different location than he had been before. As he
started to walk on, earning a few odd stares and probably an
applause or two, she made her move.

Slipping from the roof, her hand on her katana's sheath, she came
up next to the boy. She was interested, she wouldn't deny it, in
what this kid was doing in Traverse Town. It wasn't like there
was no other place to hunt Heartless. She flicked her tail and
decided that maybe coming up behind the guy wouldn't be the
best for her, so instead she wandered to the side and melted
into the shadows. She wasn't world traveling, just using the
shadows to transport her a bit in front of the boy. It seemed like
a good idea in her head, and as she felt her own being being
melted with the shadows, and then feeling them come back
together as she appeared just a bit in front of the...

Of course, Sophie had miscalculated how fast the boy was
moving, and so as she appeared, and turned to face the hero, he
was right there and she had to falter her steps in order not to
crash into the kid. It didn't make it better than she appeared in
the shadows right there, since he seemed to be ready to attack
anything that swirled in front of him. Her hand automatically
twitched towards her katana, knowing that a simple dagger was no
match for a swordsmen, but this movement was subtle, barely
visable. Instead, she straighted and brushed her pants off like
they were dirty, which of course they weren't. "Nice moves
back there," She said calmly, as if appearing out of the
shadows was completely normal.

[Tonaki]

It was quite the phenomenon actually, he assumed he be used to the odd stares and silent looks of confusion at this point in his life. But, for some reason, it never got old. Some facial expressions made him chuckle, looking utterly ridiculous, while others made him side-step slightly to avoid walking close to that person. And others yet just made him scratch his head, wondering how the hell they managed to get their faces to twist and contort into such a look. He shook of this arbitrary thoughts and decided, instead, to focus on the street ahead of him, having a comforting lack of people. He was making his way back to that alleyway in which he spent many nights. Perhaps he was looking for some nostalgic feeling. To be honest he didn't know why his legs were carrying him there, they seemed to be moving on their own accord.

By now he had passed the last of the people in the town square, and was already up and passed the buildings. It was then that he felt something...odd. A presence of sorts, which lingered almost like an odor. A blanketing feeling, one he had come to associate with the darkness. Maybe it was a straggling heartless that had caught up to him. That was the only logical thought he could muster on the issue, and it made him tense up, reaching for his sword. The sudden appearance of someone beside him prompted him to pull his sword a few inches out of its sheath, but he quickly released it when his eyes caught the sight of a girl, a young woman. She appeared to have walked out of the shadows, as if she had come straight through the wall. But, that was even less likely. Tonaki could sense something odd about her, having not yet noticed the ears or tail. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he sense a dark aura nestled deep within her, though "evil" did not seem that evil's prerogative suited her. Then again...he could be wrong.

Keeping this in mind, he didn't bother stopping, choosing to answer her questions while remaining on the move. If she chose to follow him, then so be it, otherwise, he was fine with leaving her there.

"Uh...thanks, I guess.

His words were rather emotionless, as he intended them to be. He figured he'd play it like a strategy game, at least until she tipped her hand. As far as he saw it, until he knew more about this strange girl from the shadows, there was no reason for him to trust her.

"Looks like your a bit of a shadow hopper, huh? Can't say I've seen many of you around recently. Almost seems like a dying breed," he spoke rather matter-of-fact-ly.

He deemed her entrance possible and by no means extraordinary, so he decided to pay it no mind. He took this time to examine the girl, now noticing the two rather odd...cat ears? Which adorned her head.

'What in the...? An anthro? Definitely not a common site,' he mused.

By this time he had slowed his pace as to pay the girl more mind. His interest now piqued by the oddity of her being.

"And an anthro? By the look of it some sort of cat? Not something you see everyday. Not even in a place like this."

(Gah...Short, sorry.)

[Amber]

Sophie had expected the boy to falter in his step at least, but as
it turned out, he simply continued to move on. A hero with
attitude, I see, probably feels the shadows. Maybe I should get
better at hiding those... Her hand moved to her pocket, away
from the katana's sheath. If she could keep that overlooked, at
least she'd have a surprise if he decided that she was a
Heartless, or something. The silver flash of metal up her sleeve
was currently in the other one, just in case she would need it.
She was pretty sure this boy wouldn't do anything too rash,
seeing as they were still in town, but you couldn't be too sure
with the hero type.

His response was emotionless, like he got compliments all the
time... Or he'd never gotten one before. Either way, it really
didn't much matter to her. She had seen him use Light magic,
which meant he couldn't truly be emotionless. She was
observant about things like this, but she wasn't about to point
this out to the strange kid. It was a wonder why he was acting
like such, unless he found her a threat. Sophie knew that if she
didn't appear out of the shadows, this would probably be
something that was hard to place on her tiny little shoulders. Her
golden tail flicked with a slight annoyance, rather confused about
this hero. He wasn't the normal type, that was for sure.

She expected having to continue talking for another comment
from the boy, but when he spoke again, she gave a slow smirk.
She knew there weren't a lot of shadow hoppers, or else
wouldn't there be more adventurers going from world to world. If
there were, then maybe they just weren't experienced enough
to go from each world, or even know about the other worlds in
the first place. "Well, seeing as most people have to know what
they are to use their powers, it's hard for the powers to
manifest, no?" Sophie said, her tone matching his in the category
of intelect. The tone made her feel like a teacher, but she didn't
pay much mind at the moment.

She noticed the boy's pace was slower, as she had to lessen the
sizes of her steps to keep with him. As he commented on her
being an anthro, she gave a dazzling smile. "At least there's
some kind of brain in that head of yours," she teased, her cat
ears flicking with amusement, as she gave a small chuckle. The
tone was light-hearted, yet somehow dismissive at the same
time. "And you seem to be a..." She studied his build a little bit
and pulled back her mind to his fighting style. "A Light fighter,
and seem to be wandering for a while too," she gave a small
smirk. "Think you could collect so much, no?" Her tone was
quizical, but it was calmly, like it was more rhetorical than a real
question towards the boy.

[ooc: Don't worry about it. XD

[Tonaki]

Tonaki watched as the girl began following him, and found it somewhat comical that her strides seemed so much smaller than his own. Yes, she was noticeably shorter, but it was still an amusing sight. Almost resembling a child following after their parent as they strolled down the street. Thinking of this caused him to muffle a chuckle, not wishing to break the cycle the conversation had started. Though he slowed his pace, he didn’t bother stopping, still heading for that dark alley he had once called home. As he listened to her comments he almost laughed, for some rather peculiar reason, but of course, he restrained himself.

”I suppose that could be it. That, or…there’s always the whole ‘corroding your heart’ bit to turn a few possible suitors away.” He shrugged at this, though he knew full well the effects of the darkness on the heart. He seemed to want to make it sound so casual, though it was, actually, a rather serious matter.

He turned the corner into the alleyway and paused momentarily, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of his old home. Not much had changed, as far as he could see. Most of the same boxes lay in the same place as before, with the exception of the occasional free standing box, which had most likely fallen from one of the taller stacks. He was brought back from his ensnarling string of memories only by the girl’s voice. And judging by the tone, it was something off-key, rather, it was seemingly sarcastic or mocking. Shaking his head, he managed to catch the gist of her comment. His eyes narrowed, his brows looking to be pushing down on his eyelids,

”Oh, a smart-alic, are we?” he put on an insulted tone, just to screw with the girl.

Unfortunately, he could not hold this for long, and laughter began to crack his serious face; before shattering it entirely. He managed to restrain an obvious desire to break out in laughter. Perhaps he wasn’t as serious a character as he had hoped…too bad. Having reached his destination, he figured it best to face the threatening kitten…okay, so he couldn’t keep a straight face even thinking that. So, he decided he would push it from his mind, though not out his mouth. Next thing he knew, she appeared to be study him. Peculiar, to say the least. Though her, admittedly, insightful conclusion was quite a good explanation.

”I’d say you’re about half-right,” he commented, bringing his arms up to interlock and sit against his chest, ”I’m not just some air-head ‘light warrior.’ There’s a bit more to me than that.”

This was amusing, not only had she gone ahead and attempted to make an astute observation of him, but then she went and challenged him, or so it would appear, to match her powers of observation. Without saying much he allowed his eyes to roll about her being, tracing her figure, and picking out little details along the way. Musing about her origin, he managed to organize most of the rest of his thoughts on her rather easily.

”Well…I’d say the obvious would be a cat-burglar, going off that lump in your sleeve which doesn’t move fluidly with your arm; so I would assume would not be a part of it,” he commented, one of his fingers extending out towards her sleeve. ”I’d assume you would be a wandering soul as well, assuming you couldn’t make any sort of permanent home in a world in which you might take something from someone. Aside from that, you utilize the darkness, though I’d say I’m surprised you’re heart is still intact; which would lead me to assume you have not been using it for too long.”

With a bit of a smirk he let loose a low chuckle.

”So…how’d I do?”

[Amber]

Sophie watched the boy, and she could tell that he found
something funny. He held back laughter, but she saw the twitch
of his mouth, his throat contracting to hold back some kind of
retort or slight response. She replayed her conversation with
him, but she could not find anything funny about the words
before. Maybe it was the contrast in character. Her strides, at the
moment, may be smaller than his, but that was because she was
used to walking at a brisk pace, and the only way she could slow
down was to shorten her strides. Other than that, there was
nothing rather comical about the situation that she found the
need to make a laugh at. Maybe it was a problem he had.

Sophie listened as he said that it might be the fact that using the
darkness corroded your heart. She would've listened to this
about five years ago, after her first accidental shadow travel. She
had been scared and alone, and was waiting for somebody to
take her home and tell her to never do that again. When she
was little, she was Light. Unfortunately, when she managed to
get back home, something made her want to keep using the
shadows. They made her feel strong, like she was unstopable.
Sure, she could be Shadow without being evil, and so she was.
Sophie had been keeping the shadows from taking over for over
five years, and she wasn't going to start giving in now. "The
corrosion's for the weak."

Her tone was icy, saying that she wouldn't say more on that
subject. She knew the risks of being Dark, but she knew that she
would have more power. Nobody would see her as small and
helpless when she was in control of the Darkness and all that
was there. It probably helped she was a necromancer too, but
that didn't much matter. Sophie followed as the boy turned into
an alley, staying at the opening. Even if the guy didn't seem like
it, you could never be sure about rapists and predators. Never
back yourself into an alley, even if you could jump to the roof
above you. It just wasn't safe, especially with those who had
experience.

Sophie gave him a dazzling smile, as he called her a smart-alec,
with a tone of insultment in it. She hardly doubted that she
insulted the poor boy, so didn't respond. Sophie was rather
polarized in this category. You loved her or hated her, but she
would let some people see the side that you could love and hate.
She was about to ask why he was so sensitive when his face
once again twitched to humor. It made her wonder what was so
funny once more. She knew that she didn't say anything.
Maybe he's bipolar or something. Extreme seriousness to
extreme laughing at everything. Her thoughts said, but she
knew that this wasn't usually the case with bipolars.

As the boy said that she was half-right, she awarded him with a
real smile, not her fake ones she'd been giving him. As he spoke,
she nodded, but rather slowly. "Half-right," she commented,
slipping her sleeve up a little bit to show the dagger that she
had in her sleeve. "This I got in a fight, but I am a thief so that
must be a lucky guess," Sophie gave him a shrug. "I have a
permenant home, I just stay away if I can help it," she continued
on, inspecting the blade nonchalantly. "And I've been using the
shadows for five long years, and it hasn't killed me yet," she said
briskly, slipping away the dagger into a makeshift sheath on the
other side of her outfit from the katana.

"Otherwise." Here she paused, giving him a side glance from
where she had been looking as she put away the knife. "You're
spot on, but as always, there's always more too learn about a
girl," her tone was laughingly. "Girls are always the most complex
of the human race, no?" Sophie said brightly, rolling her eyes.
She had always heard father's telling their son's that girls are
more complicated. Guys when they're upset, it's usually because
their hungry, tired, missed a game, or want a girl's attention.
Girls, however, cannot be so easily predicted. "I'm Sophie, by the
way," she said quickly. She didn't hold out a hand or anything,
but she decided that she might as well be honest with the
traveler. It wasn't like she was going to see him again.

[Tonaki]

Tonaki noticed her hesitance to enter the alleyway, and he couldn’t blame her. He would probably have called her stupid if she had nonchalantly followed him. Leaning against one of the higher stacks, Tonaki could feel the cool, rough wooden exterior push back against his shifting body, enough to keep him upright, mostly, while lifting some pressure off his tired feet. A sigh was forced from his lungs as he listened to her claim that corruption was for the weak. He kept from visibly showing his disagreement, as it seemed her stance on this was quite firm, and he wasn’t about to start a disagreement over something which, at the time, seemed quite arbitrary.

Staying away from her home? Why would she do that? As far as he was concerned, he’d give an arm and a leg to find his way home. It didn’t make a lick of sense to him, and at the same time, made him curious as to why she hated her home so much.

”Why do you avoid your home? Is it infested with termites or something?”

Maybe that sounded ridiculous, but just because he was curious, didn’t mean he still didn’t think a little outside the box. He figured if he could lighten the mood while asking the question, she might be more inclined to answer, and perhaps in a better mood. Or, at least, stay in a good enough mood that she wouldn’t do anything he would regret.

Well, he was apparently correct on his assumption of her occupation. This, of course, only made him feel he might just have to double-check his belongings every so often, just to be sure of course. As far as he could tell, she seemed quite cynical, which made him wonder if the darkness might have had more of an effect on her than she seemed to think. But, it wasn’t his place, was it? No, it definitely wasn’t, at least not at this point in time. Girls were the more complex of the two species? That was a definite understatement.

”Uh, yeah. As far as I’ve seen, they’re far more…complex—yeah, let’s go with that—than guys,”

Wait a minute…did she just give him her name? Why would she…? This girl really was the perfect stereotype of the female race. She seemed completely unpredictable, and somewhat impulsive at that; between deciding to magically appear from a wall as a means of saying, “Hello,” to randomly throwing out her name. She was a strange one this…Sophie was it?

”Uhm…yeah, it’s nice to meet you, Sophie,” he replied, almost forgetting to return the favor, ”I’m Tonaki,” he quickly added.

This seemed like it might be an odd conversation, but then again, he couldn’t remember having a normal conversation at any point in the recent past, so what would be new?

(Sorry...Sorta crappy...)

[Amber]

Sophie had watched as Tonaki leant against a stack of boxes,
looking at ease. She heard the slight sigh leave his lungs as she
said that corruption was for the weak. She knew that he was
probably trying to be polite in the fact that he didn't believe this,
which she appreciated. At least he wasn't going to go and deny
what she thought, since then she would feel the need to prove
what powers darkness had when you were surrounded by it,
and you couldn't seem to escape. Sophie knew what the risks
were, she had established them on her own, and she didn't need
people ruining her resolve. When your resolve was disrupted,
that was when the darkness won over.

As he asked why she stayed away from home, and put in the
slight joke--could it be called that?-- about it being infested with
termites, she gave a small smirk. "Well, seeing as I'm a thief and
a few other things you haven't discovered yet, dragging
unnessecary attention to my poor parents from heartless and
people trying to find me, would just cause them trouble," she
spoke levelly, but an undertone in her voice suggested that this
might not be the only reason. She wasn't, however, about to
share what it was. Though she could say that she was
comfortable around this guy, she wasn't the kind of girl that was
going to burden other people with her own personal problems.

As he agreed with her comment about the girl to boy ratio, she
gave a brief nod. As she gave him her name, she could see a bit
of a start in the boy's face. Did she do something wrong? Sophie
couldn't say that she did, but maybe this guy wasn't the kind of
person to address people by their names. Names got you
personalized with the person, and made a bigger bond than just
saying 'that thief girl'. She knew that a name-basis wasn't any
good except for first meet occasions. There were also plenty of
Sophie's around, so unless he remembered what she looked like,
she was just another girl in the many worlds that she could
access. She was a bit odd, but that didn't seem to matter to her
in the least part.

The boy introduced himself as Tonaki. Not a familiar name, she
deduced, and knew that she would probably forget the name
rather easily. She wasn't the kind to have a profound memory
when it came to names, but she could if she wanted too. "Same,
I guess," she said briefly, and tucked her hair behind her ear.
After a second, she tilted her head to the side and seemed to be
listening to something, closing her eyes. Her cat ears flickered,
her tail lashing briefly. As soon as it came on, she shook her
head, looking rather cat-like as she did. "What brings you to
Traverse Town, then?" Sophie continued, as if nothing had
happened. If the Tonaki kid wanted to know what was up, she
was going to make him ask.

[Tonaki]

Things he hadn’t discovered yet? Oh great…there was more to this girl? As if there wasn’t enough to her already, but now there was more? Wonderful…Well, at least she cared about her parents, or so she led him to believe. Tonaki wasn’t sure what it was, but something in her voice made him question the credibility of her words. He had dealt with enough shady creatures in his time to learn to pick up on little vocal hints and tendencies. Though she was a good liar—he assumed—there was something there, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. A single eyebrow was pushed up at an angle, giving her a bit of a suspicious glance.

“Well, aren’t we the caring type? You don’t go home because you’re concerned of your parents’ safety. How…sweet,”

He spoke in a bit of a sarcastic tone, though he kept it to a minimum, sounding straight-forward for much of his comment. And, as if to add to the confusion created by the conflicting tones, he cracked a small smile, almost a smirk. He figured if she was going to try and make him work to decode her words, then he would return the favor; at least a little bit. Perhaps it was his being back in his old home which made him feel this way, but for whatever reason he felt quite comfortable at the moment. Comfortable enough to talk with some—for lack of a better term—stranger, as if he’d known her far longer. It was pretty funny, actually, Tonaki hadn’t really gone out of his way to make the acquaintance of anyone during his travels; yet he comes back to where he had kicked it off, and happens to collide with someone whom he feels he’s already met many times before.

His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed her suddenly focus on something. Perhaps she was listening to something? Tonaki couldn’t be sure, but as she shook it off, he didn’t really bother to ask. Still perplexed by her sudden focus he almost missed the question that followed.

“Huh?—Oh, yeah, I really just happened to end up back here. Not any real reason behind it. Though I suppose it’s nice to be back, so I’m not complaining.”

He offered a simple shrug as accompaniment. Though he had tried to push it from his mind, he couldn’t help but remember the rather out of place string of actions which had transpired only moments ago. Now, Tonaki was by no means in tune enough to sense danger more than a few moments before it struck, but he figured that one with connections to that same darkness, and part cat as well, might have a more natural radar for such things. This leading him to think that perhaps there was trouble on the horizon. Almost hesitating to ask, he debated it for a time before deciding it was most likely in his best interest to ask.

“What was that about a minute ago? You looked like you sensed something.”

[Amber]

Sophie saw an expression pass over Tonaki's face, or maybe it
was something that she shouldn't have caught--cat's are rather
attune to emotions around them--, and she couldn't help a smirk
landing on her delicate features, making her look like those
characters that everybody saw and thought was so soft that
couldn't harm a fly. Then the parents stopped looking your way,
and she seemed to want to hang you by the sleeve of your
sweatshirt over a river full of raging rapids. Of course, this wasn't
Sophie's intentions, but rather a description that would be the
worst case scenario. Though she mentally doubted that she
could actually do such a think to a powerful hero like Tonaki, she
wouldn't hestitate, if she were threatened, to try...

“Well, aren’t we the caring type? You don’t go home because
you’re concerned of your parents’ safety. How…sweet,” the
boy spoke, his tone having a bit of sarcasm as he spoke. Her tail
flicked, wondering if the boy hadn't believed her about her family.
She was telling the truth about that, at least. She didn't lie
unless she felt an immediate threat, which she didn't. It just
wasn't her way. She saw a twitch of the boy's lips, making a sort
of smirk, which made her wonder if he was really trying to be
sarcastic about that. Though she couldn't tell if he was just
joking or not. She was definately curious about this figure, how
he seemed to confuse her just as much as she seemed to be
confusing him. It was actually fun, and it put her in her element.

As she asked him about him coming to Traverse Town and it
seemed to catch him off guard. She gave a smirk at his response,
saying that he just happened to end up here with no real reason
and that it was nice to be back and whatnot. She was definately
curious now, her cat ears twitching with an unhidden emotion,
her tail slowly swishing to the side, making a twitch towards the
end. His explaination was shown with a shrug, making him
remind her much of the boys whom she'd seen on her travels.
Trying to be cool and calm, collected if you will, when it came to
the face of danger, but most of them would freak out as soon as
they saw her katana or even the spirit of a harmless girl. It made
her laugh when this happened. But not with this boy.

He was definately different, a real hero, not just those stupid
people who walked around waving around a sword and keeping
the Heartless off, but being completely powerless to protect
himself. Her thoughts had swelled to a point where she nearly
missed the question that he had asked her. She gave a calm
smile, her ears twitching as if with delight at his questioning.
"Well, that's probably the last this that you need to know about
me. I talk with ghosts," she said quietly, and she briefly
considered summoning a ghost to show itself to Tonaki, but she
decided against it. She wasn't in the mood, nor was she at
enough power, to summon a ghost, let alone make it show itself
when it was only supposed to be there for necromancers.

[Tonaki]

Tonaki watched as a smirk creep over Sophie’s face. He wasn’t sure if he had said something funny, or if she had just thought of something on her own, but it did make him a bit uneasy. After all, the fact that the two were still just barely acquaintances came into play, Tonaki knowing full well that he did not yet know the full extent of this girl’s power and ability. He was used to dealing with all types, from the manipulative and difficult, to the shallow and abrasive; but despite his previous experiences, he couldn’t quite put this girl into any of his previously know categories. Stereotyping, he knew, was not his best bet, as that could lead him to underestimate (or overestimate) her abilities, and possibly draw him into a sense of comfort in believing he had solved the puzzle that was this…Sophie.

Thinking like that didn’t do much more than to push Tonaki further onto his toes. Already carrying a sense of awareness and alertness, he wasn’t aware he could be more consciously aware of any one person (or thing). With this heightened sense of awareness, it was fairly easy for Tonaki to pick up on the smile which found itself upon Sophie’s face, though she wasn’t exactly hiding it. Was it in response to his question? Or was it something else entirely? Tonaki listened to her words, and became slightly more visibly relaxed, which one might have seemed odd, since the girl had just mentioned a connection with spirits. Tonaki began to wonder if she was some sort of young necromancer or something similar, which in his mind might explain her draw to the darkness. But, for some reason, she didn’t seem to have that sort of a presence, so Tonaki pushed it from his mind.

”I suppose you were expecting some sort of reaction from me?” he commented, taking a deep breath and exhaling calmly. ”Though to be honest, of the things I’ve seen, this is actually pretty pedestrian,” he added as a form of explanation.

Tonaki began to wonder at the reason for his strange sense of comfort with this girl he barely knew. Though he had a conscious layer of alertness, somewhere deeper there was a sensation of nostalgia and familiarity. Now, Tonaki knew he had no idea who this girl was, having the knowledge that she grew up here, and he elsewhere; but he couldn’t shake this sense of recognition. He wasn’t sure who she reminded him of, but he assumed that she must have, otherwise he didn’t have the slightest clue as to why he felt he knew her.

Tonaki shook off his thoughts, knowing he would have plenty of time for such pondering at a later time. His attention returned to the girl about as quickly as it had departed, and his eyes rested upon her figure, his eyes catching the dao and knife he knew she kept in her possession. As far as he was concerned, he wasn’t going to let some inner sense of comfort depress his awareness. He had it for a reason (because it had kept him alive to that point) so he would force himself to rely on it if he had to.

[Amber]

Sophie knew she couldn't underestimate the hero. She saw him
take down those Heartless, and she knew that he wasn't one to
take lightly, though she certainly was. The boy didn't know the
extent of her own powers, and she could easily flee to another
world if the need came into being. She was still a bit shaken from
her last mini-travel, but it wasn't enough to make her incapable
of another travel. And besides, she had the dead and darkness
on her side. Not to mention her more than cat-like abilities. She
still had her claws sheathed, pardon the pun, and she was a
good quick draw. It's not like she really needed a weapon to
fight. The undead were very good soldiers, if you could summon
them corrently. Soph could tell you that much.

Sophie could tell that Tonaki was assessing something. It might
not have been her power, but she could tell he was on edge. Her
tail flicked absently, her catears pricking. Cats were good at
telling when somebody was tense, nervous, or crazed. It was
what made their senses look so sharp. They could see the
bunches in the muscles, the twitches in the eyes, no matter how
tiny, which gave them a bit of the upperhand. The boy being on
edge automatically made her ready for him to pounce. She
wasn't going to go down without a fight, but she didn't want to
start one by tensing up too much. She shook her head, and her
muscles untensed one by one until you couldn't tell she was
ready for a battle at all. But, of course, she would be.

I suppose you were expecting some sort of reaction from me
she heard him comment, as she said that she could communi-
cate with the dead. She wasn't really. There were a lot of people
who claimed they could do it, but they were dirty little liars, and
they knew it. Though to be honest, of the things I’ve seen, this
is actually pretty pedestrian, he had continued, and Sophie
shrugged. She knew that it wasn't safe to tell another your
powers, but she still had tricks up her sleeve, was still well
trained with her katana and her claws. It wasn't going to kill her
shadow traveling, she sure as hell wouldn't let a hero she just
met push her around. Actually, no hero was allowed to do that.
She would rather be eaten by zombies.

"Well, many will claim to be necromancers, but I can actually raise
the dead," she finished brightly, a smile coming onto her face.
Why was she comfortable with this hero? It didn't make sense.
She was usually completely on edge around new people, but she
felt like... She almost didn't have too. She looked at the boy
curiously again, before opening her mouth to speak. "Are you
sure we haven't met before. You seem... Familiar..." she was at
lost for a better word, unfortunately, but it would have to do.
She hadn't always lived in Traverse Town, and Tonaki probably
hadn't either, but had they ran into eachother in a different
world? It was possible, she ran into a lot of people, but could it
be that she had crossed paths with this hero before?