[Late at night, those who dare venture the woods may hear a sharp snap. The rustling of leaves, and... a cough? Seems someone's in the neighborhood, though from a distance, it looks like nothing more than a disembodied flame.

Should one venture closer, they'll find Ven with his clothes smudged with dirt, twigs poking outta his hair, and big, baggy circles under his eyes. Quite a departure from his normal, tidier appearance.

He continues on his way towards the village, eventually stopping at the plaza and plopping down at the edge of the fountain. Briefly, he catches glimpses of familiar faces walking by. Fuuko. Terra. Aqua. Vanitas.

Minako...

And each time, he shouts out their names. Tries to get up, but his legs are about as sturdy as rubber, and he finds himself back where he started.

After a while, he finally opens his journal and speaks.]

So, uh... I guess I've been missing a lot, huh? [Cue some sheepish laughter.]

Guess that's what happens when you go to the beach before a big Shift! I couldn't even use the teleporters to get back, so I kinda had to... walk. A lot, and then I got kidnapped.

[Tsk. What a pain.]

I'd ask what was up with that Shift, but I'm honestly just glad it's over. Couldn't even summon my Keyblade while that was going on.

[After a long pause, he heaves a soft sigh.]

Anyway, all these weird ghosts showing up got me thinking... A lot of my friends are gone now. Some have been gone for years. So I guess what I'm trying to say is... well, does anyone wanna be friends? My name's Ventus, and I've been here for a really long time. So if any of you guys are still new, I'm more than happy to give pointers. Or talk about some of my adventures in other worlds, maybe. Just uh... I think I could use some company right now.

[Anything to keep his mind off of those images.]

[It wasn't hard to tell when he woke up that morning that something was amiss. He'd been so used to seeing her around the house that when he stumbled upon Aqua's empty room, he knew exactly what had happened. After all, it'd happened before. Twice.

But rather than open his journal to lament over another lost friend, Ven opts to scoop it up and climb out onto the roof, where he gazes up at the sky at nothing in particular. Once the words come to mind, he finally addresses the journal.]

You know, I've been here for a really long time now, and I've seen loads of people come and go. My best friends have been here at least twice now, but now I'm the only one left. It's kinda crazy to think about... I mean, I remember when the three of us were inseparable.

[Granted, he still believes that their connections will bring them back together. Nothing's ever gonna change that, but it's still... sad.]

How do you guys handle that? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's seen friends go or come and go a bunch of times, only to forget this place when they come back. And would you rather have 'em here with you, or do you think it's better if they leave?

I've always thought that, as long as you keep your friends in your heart, they'll always be right there with you, but that sure doesn't stop me from missing 'em.

[ooc: Still mostly on hiatus/slowatus, but I'll try to answer tags as soon as I can!]