THE NETWORK

Sure have been a bunch of people going back to sleep lately, huh.

[Sora's usually a pretty upbeat kind of kid, and he's trying to not to look glum as he sits in a notably empty shack in Wyver.]

Sorry, I know a lot of people have already said that, I don't wanna sound like a broken record or anything. If anyone's been trying to get hold of Terra lately, he went back to sleep and it doesn't look like he's planning on waking up again anytime soon.

[That had been a sad discovery. While he's glad his new friend doesn't have to be awake and missing his friends anymore, it doesn't mean Sora doesn't miss him. He hasn't know him for very long, but in that short time he had been a good friend.

And on that thought... he takes a deep breath before adding:]

And Riku's sleeping again too, but I'm sure he's gonna wake up again real soon. You know Riku, he's never out of the picture for too long! He'll be awake again before anyone even misses him.

[Well that's just a lie, Sora misses him already.]

I just... y'know. Thought people should know.

[And then he forces a big smile onto his face as if he's not feeling completely alone and sad and tries to change the subject. Distraction tactic? What distraction tactic.]

Hey, it's not long to go 'til Halloween! Does anyone know where to get a good pumpkin from? It's not a proper Halloween without a pumpkin!

[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?