Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sora pondered how much of the blood covering his clothing was actually his as he stumbled across the heartless bodies and broken foliage into the forest. He needed to get back to Donald and Goofy but he didn't know where they were. He stumbled over a tree root and had to pause for a few minutes, counting the seconds until his head stopped spinning and he could get up and keep going. His eyes kept drooping and the world just wouldn't focus and he needed to find Donald and Goofy.

Distantly, everything hurt, but it was in a way where he was so numb it was hard to tell. If he focused he thought his left side was burning and his arm was being twisted around backwards but it was all just so overwhelming and he had to find Donald and Goofy so he just had to keep going. And going. And going.

It was like the trees around him were picking up their roots and moving in front of his feet and he kept crashing into them and tripping. Every time he fell down it took longer to get up again but all he could think was that he needed to keep going. Just keep going.

But he was so tired. He tripped to the left and he couldn't catch himself and he landed on his arm and OUCH!! Black spots and tears danced across his vision and waves of pain rolled over him. I am going to die he thought. The trees above him spun and his eyes closed and he couldn't open them again. Then he slipped into nothingness.

He was vaguely aware of someone talking but then they touched him and it hurt and he was cold and he retreated back into the darkness.

Slowly he became aware. It was warm now and his arm didn't hurt as bad but he felt like every inch of him was tied up. Where am I? He thought and panicked, struggling to open his eyes. Then there was a hand on his forehead. “Don't move.” a steady voice above him commanded. He stopped moving but managed to get his eyes open.

There was a canvas ceiling and on his right was a canvas wall and on his left was a fire and a blond man in black armor. The blond man was frowning at him but didn't say anything else. Sora stared at him for a long time as the man moved around the tent, adjusting the fire and inventorying supplies. He was familiar but Sora's muddled brain couldn't figure it out.

The longer he was awake the more everything hurt so he fell back into nothingness.

He didn't really wake up for a while after that, sometimes he'd sorta wake up and there'd be Kairi sitting on the other side of the tent staring at him. It was really creepy because all she would do was stare and maybe smile like she wanted to kill him. He wondered if she was mad at him for taking so long to find her.

It was too hot, then too cold, and everything hurt and he just wanted to go home where Riku could sneak him ice cream when the staff at the children's home weren't looking. His side was on fire and his insides were boiling and the blankets were too tight around him and he felt like he was suffocating.

After what felt like forever Sora managed to wake up for real. His side still hurt and he still missed Riku (he missed Kairi also but he was a bit afraid to think of her at the moment) but he wasn't cold and he could stay awake. He was still in a tent with the blond guy, who was asleep on the other side of the fire, but all the supplies were less orderly and Sora thought there was less than the first time he woke up.

It was warm and the world wasn't moving at full speed just yet so Sora snuggled into the blanket and let his mind wander. There was a fly buzzing around near the top of the tent and for several minutes Sora just watched it fly in lackadaisical patterns. But then there was a shuffling noise from the blond man and Sora looked over to see really really blue eyes studying him intently. If he wasn't still so tired he might have done more than blink when the blond moved closer and reached his hand towards Sora's face. But all the man did was put his palm on Sora's forehead.

His hand was huge and the callouses on his fingers were rough but Sora only had a moment to notice before the blond was back on the other side of the tent, poking the fire, and not looking at Sora.

All at once the memory came back to him. “Cloud” Sora whispered. His throat felt like sandpaper and he sounded like Donald. Cloud didn't stop fixing the fire but he did glance at him. When he had the coals arranged to his satisfaction he reached over to a large bag and pulled out a water bottle which he handed to the boy. As he moved to sit up he found his left arm was wrapped tightly across his stomach and wouldn't move. Lazily, he tugged at it but it hurt so he gave up fairly quickly. Moving again to sit up he found the parts of him that didn't hurt too badly were lazy and slow so he only made it a few inches up before he had to lay down again.

Thankfully, Cloud wrapped an arm around Sora's back and helped him up, letting the boy lean against his side so he didn't fall over. He smiled at Cloud in thanks then attacked the water with gusto. It tasted better than the best pop ever with how thirsty he was but after a few gulps the bottle was suddenly not in his hands anymore. He just stared at his hands for a few seconds before looking down and around to see if he'd dropped it.

He could feel Cloud huff out a laugh through where their sides were touching and turned to find the blond had stolen the water bottle. Why would he do that? He gave it to Sora and Sora wanted it so he weakly reached for it, hoping he looked pathetic enough he'd get his way (a tactic that worked so well on Riku but that Kairi saw through every time). With a light shake of his head Cloud caved—and Sora stored information on the successful technique away for later use—and handed back the bottle with a warning, “Don't make yourself sick.”

Which was good advise. On the islands it was normal for people to get sunstroke or drink too much sea water and then it was dangerous to drink fresh water too quickly or you might throw up. And throwing up would hurt right now. Most of the bottle was gone before Sora had to shake his head a bit and blink quickly to keep his eyes open. He'd just woken up but felt like he'd run the length of Traverse Town.

Cloud shook him a bit and suddenly there was some kind of bran bar in his hand. Sora just stared at it in distaste for a few moments before putting on a pathetic face and making his eyes a bit watery as he looked up at Cloud. “Eat it.” Cloud ordered, but Sora could see him wavering. It was hard to look Cloud in the eyes, he was a bit intimidating, so Sora went back to staring sadly at the food. Why couldn't it be something sweet?

He was abruptly jostled as Cloud got up with a light huff and piled several bags and blankets behind Sora to lean against before leaving the tent. Oops. Sora didn't mean to make him mad. He looked at the bar in his hand again and considered it just to make Cloud happy but went back to watching the fly instead.

He woke up again, bran bar still in hand, to find Cloud sitting next to him again. He considered apologizing for not eating and being grateful, but the words never made it past his head. It was quiet for several minutes as Sora just watched Cloud fiddle with something in his hands. It was more interesting than watching the fly but Sora couldn't find the energy to really try to figure out what the blond was doing.

His eyes were drooping again when the bran bar was taken out of his hand and something soft and sticky replaced it. It was a weird fruit with the skin pealed off to make it easier to eat. Blinking at it slowly it occurred to Sora that he should probably eat it so he licked it. It tasted almost like a paopu fruit. Humming happily he bit into it.

After a few bites he started to loose interest in the food and his eyes started to wander again. “Eat it!” Cloud snapped and Sora jumped. He took another bite.

Most of the fruit was gone when his mind started to wander again. He was just so warm and his eyes didn't want to stay open and his side was starting to hurt more…