Chapter Text
Gawrsh, Donald… I know the King told us to find this Key, but huh… didn’t expect the Key to be so young.
That’s not for us to judge, Goofy. If the Keyblade chose him, there must be a reason. We just do our job and keep an eye on him, till we get him to the King.
Unaware of what his new acquaintances were half-whispering about, figuring they were busy enough with the cockpit controls and panels, Sora practically had his face glued to the Gummi Ship’s window – staring outside in absolute awe. This was real, they were really flying… really speeding through the vast cosmos, with stars and planets and asteroids and comets swimming in this endless sea all around them! Truth be told, the lift-off did cause his stomach to flip over itself and smack right into the liver, and he had yet to get used to the sharp turns required to avoid Heartless ships whenever they got in the way… but, for the most part, this was already becoming an experience Sora wouldn’t forget even if he lived a hundred years. And was his wonder really such a surprise, for someone who’d been born and grown up in the smallest of islands, never having traveled anywhere else before? So much so that, by the time the three of them sat down together for dinner, Sora had not run out of curious questions to ask about everything new and exciting.
“Hey, Donald, do you think I can fly the ship one of these days, too?”
“What??” The duck nearly choked on his water, hastily putting the glass back down on the table before he accidentally sent it flying. “No way, that’s for professionals! You wouldn’t have a clue what to do!”
“That’s why I’m asking if you can teach me! You once had to learn how to do it too, didn’t you?”
Goofy snickered over his bowl of beans, not saying anything but clearly amused by this comeback. Too young for the Key or not, this boy seemed bright enough and wasn’t afraid of talking back to Donald – which, in his book, was already a big achievement.
“Forget it! I have more to think about, and so do you. Why don’t you start practicing your magic instead, like I taught you?”
This time, Sora answered by means of a pout only. Of course, he was beyond grateful that Donald took the time to teach him how to use his Keyblade to cast fire spells… but he still really wanted to try piloting the ship, as well! It didn’t look too difficult… and he was perfectly capable of dealing with Shadows and Soldiers now, why should Heartless ships be any diferent? Regardless, not wanting to be rude to his new friends who were kind enough to let him come along when he literally had nowhere else to go and no one else to be with, he opted for not insisting. At least, for the time being.
“Say… where are we headed, anyway? You guys said you’re looking for your King… do you have any idea where he may be?”
Goofy and Donald exchanged a look between them. Again with the Keybearer falling short on their expectations… They’d believed that he who held the Key would be someone incredibly wise and powerful, able to send the Heartless back to where they’d come from and to get rid of the Darkness and to bring peace back to all the worlds… but Sora honestly seemed even more lost than they were. He’d lost his homeworld, he’d been separated from his friends, he didn’t know anything about King Mickey’s endeavor and he didn’t even know why he’d been chosen by the Keyblade… matters weren’t looking so great, were they? Regardless, their orders were clear and they had no doubt they could trust the King. Maybe, as they traveled to new worlds, everything would start making more sense.
Goofy was the one breaking the silence this time. “Don’t worry!” Sora had so much going on at the moment and, despite being so excited about flying and seeing new sights, no doubt he would need a bit longer to get used to all this and to properly process such a radical change in his life. There was no need to burden him further with his and Donald’s questions and doubts. “The King told us to find the Key, and we found you. Maybe we don’t really know what to do yet, but we just hafta keep looking. We’ll figure out what to do, and we’ll find him for sure.”
That seemed to put the smile back on Sora’s face. “Right! I’ll find Riku and Kairi as well, and I’ll have a lot of stuff to tell them about. Wait till Riku sees my Keyblade, he’s gonna be so jealous!”
“So be good and finish your food, then I’ll show you to your room.”
It came out a lot more maternal than Donald had planned, but oh well. Mission aside, Sora reminded him of his nephews and, if he could do something to make all this mess a little easier on the boy, then why not? Soon they were done eating and he was guiding Sora down the Gummi corridors, explaining where were the other rooms, till they stopped in front of a specific door. The ship wasn’t too big, and it only had two bedrooms, so one would be for Sora now… which meant Donald would, from now on, be stuck with enduring Goofy’s loud snoring every night. The mission required sacrifices, didn’t it? And not even he was grumpy enough to make Sora sleep on the couch, so this would have to do.
“Don’t expect anything fancy. We’re royal court but we’re not rich.”
Snickering, Sora walked in after turning on the lights, to take a good look around. It was actually about the same size as his room back home, so that was perfect… even if the decoration was a lot barer. The furniture was simple, in the general style of the rest of the ship, and there was the bed, a small nightstand with a lamp, an also small desk with a couple drawers, a chair, and a chest for clothes. At least this much he wouldn’t have a need for, right now, considering the only things he owned were literally the clothes he was wearing. Other than this, the Munny given by Leon and a few other scraps collected after battle so far, but these savings belonged to the three of them – for potions, items, armor, things of the like.
“Maybe, as we visit new worlds, I’ll find cool things to bring here.”
“Don’t count on that. We won’t be doing tourism.” Still, Donald spoke these words with a smile of amusement, promptly mirrored by Sora’s sweet one.
“Thank you, Donald. For the room and, huh… you know. For everything.”