01 video | un: SORA! [filtered from Riku]

[happylocksmith]

[The first thing you'll see is a kind of dingy looking room in a hut in Wyver's Old City that might recognise as being Riku's place. The second thing you'll see is a very definitely home-made banner that has HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIKU WELCOME HOME painted on it in big blue letters that get more and more squashed together as they get to the end of the material. It's strung across a wall, freshly painted apparently as every now and then, dollops of blue paint drip off it onto the floor.

But in front of it is Sora, looking tired and his hair might be a bit droopier than it usually is, and he's frowning in deep concentration as he doesn't seem to realise that he's started to record, but when he does realise, he does a visible double take and as he waves sheepishly at the camera he offers up a big smile too.]

Whoa, okay, hi! I'm Sora, this is the first time I've used this thing so uh... hi? I said that already.

[He rubs the back of his neck self consciously but then he's right back to business.]

So I'm still pretty new here but my best friend Riku, he's been here for months and I guess some of you might know him. It was his birthday this week but he... well he was one of the ones who got kidnapped and he missed it.

[For a brief, almost imperceptible split second, his shoulders slump and something shifts in his eyes, but he's right back to covering that up with a big grin.]

So when he gets out of the infirmary and comes home tomorrow, I wanna throw him a surprise party so if you know Riku then come on by!

[Then something very, very important occurs to him:]

Oh! I almost forgot: I need to make a triple chocolate fudge cake with star sprinkles on it but I don't have an oven, can anyone help?

Comments

Video

[icingonthecake]

An oven, huh? If you can get your paws on a metal box I might be able to lend ya a hand there.

Video

[happylocksmith]

Really? That'd be great!

Now I just need to find a recipe...

[icingonthecake]

Can't help you with that one, shortstack; never was much of a baker, myself. My specialty is the icing, not the cake. [Yes, that's sarcasm.] I'm not really sure how thrilled Riku'd be to see me at his birthday party, honestly, but I can probably wrangle a working oven out of a steel box, or... maybe a safe or something? Something that'll trap the heat and hold it.

[happylocksmith]

Hey I'm not short! We can't all be stringbeans like you, Axel.

[Is that a pout? It looks like a pout.

... Yeah it's a pout.

But it's gone in moments as Sora starts to concentrate on the oven dilemma.]

I know we're gonna need eggs and flour and butter and sugar, and chocolate too... what would you do with the oven, would you just shoot fireballs at it to heat it up? Maybe we should find somewhere away from the house to-

[And then something twigs.]

Wait, hold on. Why wouldn't Riku be pleased to see you? Did you guys get in a fight or something?

[icingonthecake]

[He laughs aloud.]

No, you lunkhead, I'm gonna do a controlled burn under the box, and if we can find one with any like. Little air holes or something, I can use some Aero to speed things up. Like a convection oven, you know? [Hey, his mom baked, he knows a little about these sorts of things.]

And, I... No, we didn't have a fight, I just don't think he really trusts me all that much. Or likes me all that much. I can't entirely blame him, I guess; I'm satisfied if he's just putting up with me, for now, but I don't wanna barge in on festivities and make it weird. [He wags a finger at him.] I'll just take a slice of cake for my troubles.

[happylocksmith]

Well excuse me if I'm not a pyro who doesn't know how to make an oven work off the top of my head! I thought the whole thing had to get hot.

[Sora's mom tended to keep her sticky fingered rugrat out of her kitchen. It was probably for the best.

But maybe they should bake away from the house. He wouldn't want Riku to come home to a smouldering pile of ash.]

Aw, c'mon Axel, Riku's not like that. He just needs time to get to know you, and once he does, he'll understand that you're on our side and you're our friend. And you know what's a really good time and place to make friends?

[icingonthecake]

Well the whole thing does get hot, but shooting fireballs at it won't heat it up evenly, sheesh. [Actually he's never done anything like make his own oven from scratch like this before, but surely this is how it would work, right?]

[He pulls at the back of his neck then.]

I wasn't implying Riku was like anything in particular. I just don't really think I'm the guy he wants to see at his birthday party, is all... [He blows out a sigh.] Look, let's just see if we can actually even make a cake before we start nitpicking the guest list, okay?