Chapter Text
Strelitzia settled against the wall, out of breath. As far as she could tell, she was in an isolated part of the castle that wasn't visited often, if the dust was any indication.
Good. That meant she finally had some time to herself.
She slid down the wall, bringing her knees to her chest. Slowly, Strelitzia relaxed. Finally, she was alone. No Lauriam hovering over her shoulder all the time, no Sora with his overwhelming happiness, and no-
"Well, well, well. I didn't expect to see anybody come into this wing of the castle."
Strelitzia jumped at the gravelly voice, settling into a defensive stance. Across from her stood somebody who bore a striking resemblance to Sora, but in every way he looked like him, there were a thousand ways that he definitely wasn't.
The boy's crimson eyes tracked her movements. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "After all, nobody wants to chance running into me."
Strelitzia narrowed her eyes. "And who are you?"
"Me? I'm Vanitas. Just the black sheep of this happy little family." Vanitas shrugged. He tipped his head towards Strelitzia. "You gonna tell me your name? It's only fair."
Strelitzia pursed her lips, but ultimately relaxed her posture. "I'm Strelitzia, Lauriam's sister. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, right." Snorted the boy. "Glad I get to finally put a name to the face, though. I don't think I've ever seen someone so determinedly avoid our very own golden boy."
Strelitzia was initially confused by the moniker, but then she realized that there was only one person she had been avoiding. "I don't avoid Ventus."
Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Keep lying to me like this and I might start getting offended. It's clear to see, you're avoiding him. And any time you're not, I wouldn't say you're pleasant either."
Strelitzia was silent at that.
"So, I figured I'd talk to the only person that doesn't like the blessed brother of mine. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all."
Strelitzia blinked. "Wait- brother?"
Vanitas just waved a hand dismissively. "Born and raised together. Course, I'm the only one that knows that, considering the state of his memories."
"You… remember?"
"Yep. I'd much rather not, though, considering…"
The war.
Strelitzia had only learned about it after meeting up with her brother. She knew that there were tensions when she died, but for it to come to a war?
"I understand. There are things I wouldn't like to remember, too."
The two stood in an awkward silence, neither meeting the other's eyes.
Well… Vanitas did seem nice, and he didn't seem to be overwhelming like everyone else in this castle…
"Wanna… get out of this place? Go to some shops and people watch, perhaps?"
Vanitas looked at her, his face unreadable. Eventually, he shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
His shadow bubbled, and a strange box creature quickly skittered away. Strelitzia decided not to mention it.
"Good! Good." She stood there for a moment. "Do you… know anywhere to go?"
Vanitas laughed. "Sure do. Come on."
Oh, why did she feel like she would never live that down?