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Ventus raised his arms as he stretched back in his seat, stiff from definitely studying and not zoning out in the Land of Departure's expansive library. Leaning forward and face planting into the polished wood of the large table he sat at, nestled between short shelves of simple to read books, he let out a muffled sigh. Due to his lack of memories… Ventus couldn't read.
Addendum, he couldn't read well .
Simple things like his name and short, easy sentences were fine most of the time, but he often got stuck on the more complicated words. Words Ventus knew were simple to others from watching them, but mysteries to him despite his efforts to learn. So when he glanced over to the other person at the table, seeming frustrated at a book, his attention was immediately peeked.
Terra grumbled as he looked back and forth between a large book and a notebook next to it. He watched as the older slammed the pencil in his hand flat against the table and leaned back, running a hand over his face. “You okay?” Ventus asked, tempted to stand and see what his friend was reading, even though he wouldn't be able to understand it. His friends could read things much more complicated than he could, so this must be even more than the adults could handle.
“No…” Terra grunted before sitting back up straight to give the book an annoyed glare, “Why do I have to bother with this? The book’s already translated.” the man grumbled mostly to himself but it was easy to hear in the quiet library.
Ventus tilted his head at his friend’s words, about to ask for clarification when the door to the hallway closed. He hadn't even realized it was open. Aqua chuckled as she walked to the table, “Because learning the ancient language is important for Keyblade Wielders.” she plopped a stack of papers down in front of her as she sat down, “Hey there.” she greeted with a smile.
Ventus nodded in her direction, returning the smile, before turning back towards Terra, “Is it really that hard to learn?” he asked.
“Not if you actually pay attention.” Aqua teased the suffering brunette.
Terra huffed, “Yeah, I don't believe that. I pay enough attention but this is still-” he cut himself off to shut the book and show off the cover to her, causing Aqua to raise an eyebrow at the lost progress, “I don't even need what's in this book.” he sounded very frustrated.
It reminded Ventus kind of himself when nothing in books made sense for him. He wasn't sure why he even bothered looking at the cover, which was angled in a way he could also easily see, something even his much smarter friend had difficulty with, but still he looked. The aged green cover, symbols of magic depicted in the middle, and golden lines above them for the letters of the title. Without thinking, “‘The Dangers of Casting High Magic’...?” he read the title out loud, quieting the other two from squabbling over the importance of learning the book's contents.
He didn't even realize what had happened until he looked away from the book to see two surprised faces watching him. “Ven? Did you just… read the book title?” Aqua asked in surprise because yes, he did just read the letters on the book as if it was nothing. But aren't they supposed to be ancient? He can barely read the book in front of him but a dead language was perfectly fine?
He just stared at the book in confusion, a panic that didn't make sense bubbling up. There was a hand on his shoulder that he had difficulty registering and words of concern that he didn't really hear. His head hurt.
Ventus shook his head frantically, wanting to shake those words out of his head because something about it felt wrong. Like he was betraying someone by trying to learn how to read the living language but still reading something ancient. “What's wrong with me?” he murmured, scared of being looked at like a traitor by both the people he forgot and the people next to him right now.
“Ven, there's nothing wrong with you.” Terra, who was the person with his hand on his shoulder he realized once he looked over, said with a reassuring smile, “This just means you could read them in your past, right?” the question was directed to him but he looked towards Aqua, as if for validation.
“Yeah, maybe this will help you remember.” she said, ruffling the blonde’s hair with her own smile and kind eyes. That made him feel a little better. But the image of familiar yet unfamiliar blue eyes full of anger appeared in Ventus’ head and all he could think of was that they were for him trying to move away from his past. His friends definitely noticed the frown that had reappeared.
Sadly, they couldn't understand Ventus’s internal turmoil.