vatheon | 2 --> Switch

Entry tags:

2 --> Switch

Who: A very confused Not-Axel and Roxas
When: The early morning
Where: Axel and Roxas' apartments
Style: Whatever
Status: Closed

On normal days, Saix woke up early anyway. It was habit no matter how dark it was in the bubble. When you had spent ten years in a world that didn't change from eternal night, you learned to wake up on time instead of hoping the sun's rays would wake you.

But it's not habit that wakes him up this morning. It's the feeling of something missing, for one thing, a familiar warmth wiggling against his side and wagging its tail. There's something else, a twist in his chest, something that makes his lungs feel tight. It's all enough to make him rouse himself from sleep, pushing himself up in bed and pressing a hand to his chest. Still sleepy, it takes him a moment to realize that this is not his room.

Saix jerks back in alarm- more alarm than he thought himself capable of- and a burst of flame suddenly manifests on the end of his bed, eating up the sheets. Cursing under his breath, Saix stumbles out from the sheets. Why he's not in his house, why this room is so painfully familiar, why his chest feels weird, and why he feels so gangly- those are all questions for later. Right now, he has to concentrate on putting out this fire.

Roxas might notice a commotion in the next room, and he'll likely find "Axel" trying to smother the flames with wet towels.

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Roxas can't be classified as an early-riser, but he generally wakes up before Axel. In a little longer, he would have woken up naturally on his own, but the smell of smoke and burning rouses him earlier than usual. Hearing sounds from the next room over, he climbs out of his bed and, still in his pajamas, shuffles over to investigate.

He opens the door without thinking to knock, since there seems to be something going on, and stands for a second in confusion, watching Axel beating out a fire with... towels. This must be an off day for his element.

Giving himself a shake, Roxas hurries over to give him a hand. "L-lemme help."

It's going to be an off day for everything, once he gets over the shock.

Roxas gets a look when he suddenly comes over, one that's equal measures confused and shocked and maybe a little suspicious before Saix brushes it all aside as best he can. It's harder than it usually is. "Alright, come one- we need to smother it." Oh. That- is not his voice. Saix tries to ignore that, too, and the fire is good for something in that aspect. He can focus more on that instead of anything else.

"Right." For the moment, Roxas is still not awake enough and too distracted by the fire to notice the look. Which is probably lucky since it would only have added to his confusion and the fire is the more important issue right now.

Looking around, he spots Axel's Organization coat. It must be pretty fireproof considering it's survived so many fights, so he grabs it and throws it atop the fire with the towels.

Organization coats in general are pretty tough, and it's a good thing Roxas is capable of calmly thinking. (Then again, he is also more used to weird emotions-not-emotions, so the ball is in his favor.) Saix waits and is distracted by the strange sensation of just- knowing as the fire starts to die out. It's only when he can't sense it entirely does he check it. Alright. Done with. The sheets are more or less ruined but as they aren't really his sheets, Saix doesn't really care.

Stepping back, he realizes with no small amount of shock that his hands are trembling a bit. He shakes them as if that can make them stop and finds himself frowning at how very much not-his they seem. "Something's wrong here," he mutters. He's starting to recognize this room. Not anything like in Never Was, but something from a long time ago, in some place that actually knew sunlight and plant life.

Roxas lets out a breath of relief as the fire goes out under the combination of wet towels and Organization coat. He's starting to push them all off to investigate just how much damage was done to the bed when Axel speaks up again. He looks up at his friend, noticing his confusion and the trembling.

"Are you okay? It's- probably a curse week so maybe it's messing with your powers..." He glances down at his own hands, wondering if his magic still works properly.

"I don't think it's just my powers that's being toyed with." His voice is definitely not his own, and Saix finds himself actually struggling to remain calm. Is this some sort of adrenaline rush? Is that's what's going on here? That would explain his sudden case of nerves, but not why Roxas is being so nice to him. After what happened between Saix and Axel, the Diviner would have thought Roxas to be a lot more... displeased in regards to him.

He's starting to suspect what's going on here. "Is there anything that looks different about me, Roxas?"

Roxas turns to face Axel and looks him up and down. Same red hair, same tattoos, same.. chest. "No," he says, but after a pause he adds, "You are talking kind of funny though."

And now that he's paying attention, there's something strange about the way Axel's looking at him, too. He's not sure how to put it, but it seems more... distant, somehow. Something's missing.

Right. Of course, him and Axel definitely have stopped talking similar in any way possible for ages. Not since they were Somebodies, at least. He'd be bluntly honest with the boy if not for the fact that he's pretty sure he would sound insane even with the knowledge of a curse in play. He supposes he'll have to... go along with it, for now, until he can get a bit more solid proof.

He's not much of an actor, but he is a decent liar, along with being Axel's friend for a long time. Saix is... fairly certain he can fake enough. Taking a deep breath, he waves his hand. "It's probably nothing. Listen, don't worry about it. Let me clean up and then we can go and see what's happened to the rest of the city after breakfast." Hm. Probably not casual enough. Oh well.

If only Saix knew that Roxas had been the victim of the exact same curse almost a year ago. But since he isn't coming out and saying it, Roxas just eyes his supposed best friend a moment longer before relenting, for now. It's not like Axel's trying to put off figuring out what's going on forever, just until after breakfast. That seems reasonable.

"...okay. You want waffles?"

Excuse him for coming here just a few months ago and not knowing all the repeat curses, Roxas! Gosh.

"Sounds good." He almost wants to ask when Roxas learned to make waffles, but for one, it isn't important, and for two, Axel would obviously know the answer to that. So Saix just focuses on something else. "And Roxas- you feel normal too?" He's certainly not acting surprised or screaming in confusion, but still. Maybe there's more to this curse that he hasn't learned about yet.

Although his cooking skills probably are more advanced than Saix suspects, Roxas does not actually know how to make waffles. These are the frozen variety.

He's started to head off to the kitchen, but glances back at the question. "Yeah. I mean, I haven't tried doing anything, but... nothing feels off." Maybe whatever it is skipped him for once.

It's still more than he would have given him credit for. Saix... doesn't have a high view of you, Roxas, sorry. At least it's better than it was before. Marginally.

"I see..." Wait, act like Axel, right. Saix gives a sigh, and the exasperation really isn't that fake. "It looks like all the bad luck goes to me then. I'll be out in a bit if I don't set fire to anything else." Hopefully he doesn't set fire to anything else. Having it as an element as opposed to just an optional spell is something else.

Roxas gives him a funny look, but just nods and slips out of Axel's room to go make breakfast. As he gets things ready, he tries to think of what the curse might be. Aside from his powers not working right, Axel doesn't seem to know himself just what's wrong, but it's definitely more than just that.

Or maybe he does know and just doesn't want to say. That's something Axel would do. It's not going to work for long, though, if other people are affected.

Saix... means to get ready quicker. He doesn't want to waste too much time when he could be figuring out what's going on, and just who's trapped in his body. (Although he has an alarmingly good idea of who it is.) It's just... Even after he finds himself staring blankly into the mirror, seeing Axel's face and not his, there's still something that makes him linger. It's the familiarity of the room that just has him staring.

The twisting sensation in his chest only gets stronger. It's not exactly right from his memories- the layout of the room is all wrong, and the window looks out onto a more blue city than it should. But still. When he finally wanders out, coat on and hair done (since it had seemed weird not to), he's holding one of Lea's old frisbees in his hand. He's staring down at it with a nostalgic kind of sadness, lost in his own thoughts and weird feelings.

Axel can take his time getting ready some mornings, but usually it's after breakfast. By the time 'Axel' comes out, the kitchen table is set. Roxas is sitting already halfway through his first waffle, and an untouched plate sits with the syrup and butter at the ready.

He looks up at Axel, remembering to chew and swallow before asking, "What's with the frisbee?" He's seen them in his room, but he doesn't usually go carrying them around anywhere.

"Huh?" He snaps out of it, shaking his head a bit before finally setting it down on the table so he can take a seat. "It's just something- I used to use before I joined the Organization." It's been a long while since he's specifically thought of when the two of them first joined the Organization, still just two very foolish children who thought they could do anything so long as they had each other. Who thought they could win.

Remembering that time actually makes him snort a bit in laughter as he gets his waffles ready. "Everything got set on fire back then, too." Saix pauses right after he says it, surprised that he laughed at all.

Roxas continues to eye his friend strangely. Axel slips up every now and then just like he does, but he doesn't usually refer to Lea and himself as the same person. Moreover, Roxas already knew about the frisbees. Even if it was Vanitas who told him, Axel was there when he did.

"Yeah. They were Lea's weapons." He hesitates and then proposes, "Something- made you think of him today?"

"I don't know." Another actual truth. "I just can't stop thinking about him today." Well there goes any appetite he had. He'll probably regret it later, but Saix gets up to go put it away. This is actually bothering him, and he doesn't like it. "Listen, I'll wait for you outside, alright?"

"All right."

Increasingly worried about his friend, Roxas tries to finish up quickly. Once he's eaten, he doesn't bother showering, but just gets dressed and heads out of the apartment.

"Axel" is indeed waiting for him outside, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and a frown on his face as he goes over everything that's happened in such a short amount of time. When he realizes Roxas has come close, he tries to smile but it... doesn't quite come off right.

"Anyone or anywhere you want to check out first?"

Yeah, that smile is... definitely off. Everything is off.

"Forget that for a second. What's going on with you? I mean... You've gotta have some idea."

Alright. He's not as good at this as he thought he would be. Saix rakes his fingers through bright red hair that he's not used to on himself. "I think I do. I just want to check something out, first, to see if I'm right."

Around anyone but Axel's best friend, Saix might have been able to pull it off. He still doesn't suspect Axel isn't Axel at all, but there's no hiding something is not right here.

"What do you wanna check out?"

Stupid best friend connection. ~~He misses it.~~

"Someone else's house. I think they might be having the same problem I am. Just trust me on this, alright? I'll explain when we get there."

Congrats, that best friend connection is also what's getting him all the trust. It's a weird answer, though. Why would he think someone else specifically would be having the same problem?

"Okay. Lead the way."

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