This is hardly as fun as playing Candy Crush

[provenworth]

Characters: Elena & Open
Setting: Throughout the Tower during the Event
Format: Will match yours
Summary: Catch-all for the "If You Won't" Event
Warnings: Collecting all the candy, feels, and more! I will update anymore content warnings as they happen.


[October 20th – Graveyard | OPEN TO ALL]

[If there was one lesson Elena remembered from her previous time in the Tower, it was that when it was suggested you do something, you did it. Because while there was sure to be repercussions for engaging in the action, not engaging would be far worse. And so she’s very calculating of her search, scanning all areas of randomly selected rooms before searching in narrow crevasses and any hard to reach place. And so far she’s been very lucky in her search, her candy collection growing.

Though…why again did she think it was a good idea to check a graveyard for candy? Oh, right. Because it was coming close to Halloween. Footsteps take her past several graves, eyes reading the names of the fallen. Lost? Fully-dead? More names become familiar, ones uttered on the network about going missing or being fully gone. On one she’d found a little meringue ghost, the irony not escaping her at all. It’s when she comes closer to a familiar row that she stops between a pair of gravestones and just stares.]

….Fuck you Ruana. [The words are a barely whispered hiss, her curious, neutral expression darkening.] That’s not funny.

[Moving forward towards the row of gravestones she’d mentally renamed as Gaia Row, she passes by several familiar names. Reno. Rude. Tseng. Rufus. The whole ShinRa family, lined up in a row. But that wasn’t what had made her stomach sink. It was the pair of chocolate roses resting across the grave of one Cloud Strife. They had made a very amiable connection during his stay in the Tower, working together to keep an eye on Reno, make sure that his head stayed on straight and his nose stayed out of trouble.

Squatting in front of the gravestone, fingers lightly lifted the pair of roses, one after the other, and dropped them into the little bowl she’d found on her bedside. Giving a little sigh, she reached out and brushed pads of her fingers against the etched name, giving the top a little pat as she stood.]

I'll bring you some real ones soon. [Her eyes moves to the rest of the gravestones.] All of you. Promise.


[October 21 - Floor 38 Lounge | OPEN TO ALL]

[Candy collecting was rather hard work, especially in the tower. She had taken a break in the lounge after finding three pieces of blue cotton candy, picking one of the numerous chairs and dragging it closer to the window to look over the scene below. The open fog, the clouds. It could have been a tranquil place to stay if one didn't know that the Tower was on its last legs and their entire environment could shatter around them.

Elena is curled up in the chair, her back pressed into a corner of the wingback, legs hanging over the arm, left foot bouncing to a tune in her head. She would relax here for just a few more moments before going back to the hunt. She didn't want to be lacking in candy when shit hit the fan.]


[October 22nd - Floor 53 Classroom | OPEN TO ALL]

[Since when did the Tower have a classroom? Standing in the doorway, Elena gave an uncomfortable cough before entering, a brilliant red apple sitting on the desk. Fitting. Given the fact she had nothing else to wear by her ShinRa Academy uniform, she looked like she belonged.

But there was just something about the silence of the room, of the desks being upside down, that made her skin crawl. It was a pity she couldn't just leave without finishing her search.]


[October 23rd - Floor 88 Bar | CLOSED TO RENO]

[It been a while since Elena had been to this floor - back when it had been run by dual Reno's and there had been alcohol. Oh, how she missed having alcohol. She wouldn't dare drink the random bottle that might be laying around, still full with questionable contents. That was a risk she wasn't willing to take.

The note had been left on Reno's nightstand, a simple message that would only be discerned by another Turk, after ensuring that all other residents had vacated the room.

R
@
13h
F88
E

She wouldn't lie, the temptation to lay on his bed for a few moments, but the risk was too great and she was back on the hunt for collecting candy. As the time for their meeting drew closer, she arrived at the location early, scanning the area first for any candy available and then to ensure there no pesky monsters or curious ears.

Once confirmed, she's eying the pool table. There was time for one round of billiards before Reno showed up, right? Right. Balls are racked and then broken with an audible 'clack', Elena engaging in a solo match against time.]

Comments

F88 13h

[midgarhorizon]

[Soon enough, the "Raven" drops on to the floor from the stair case, having decided to jump a few steps just for the hell of it. Looking around, he walks by her and to the bar, going around behind it and searching each of the shelves. Things haven't changed much down here, except now it looks abandoned without someone to care for it.

Bent over, Reno rifles through some of the empty bottles, clinking the glass together and knocking against the wood. Most of the stock had disappeared long ago, but one lone, small bottle had survived the passage of time and got missed behind the empties. He usually had some special bottle or something hidden in plain sight in the past, and is unusually pleased to see one is still there.

The bottle's placed on top of the bar, and Reno leans against the top with one elbow. He swore off drinking, but the bottle would be welcome later. Maybe it would ease the near constant nagging and paranoia he felt.

He gets a good look at her for the first time since Sunday, and felt... odd.]

Elena?

[Since when has Reno ever sounded that uncertain?]

Did ya need to see me?

[provenworth]

[Half the balls had been given a home when Raven!Reno enters, Elena bent to sink the 6 ball into the top right corner, eyes snapping up to look at him. Straightening, both hands wrap around the pool stick, a pleased smile on her lips.]

Hey Re...[And he just walks by her, eyes and head following, the smile disappearing.]...no..

[Huh. Well that was certainly out of the ordinary, his walking right past her without so much as a look or hello. She doesn't move from her spot, leaning against the pool stick, eyes focused on his every movement. Either he was a braver soul than she was to trust anything he found there or there was something else going on.

When he finally looks at her, a bottle set in front of him, she gives a concerned frown.]

Yeah, I did. Though I'm starting to think I should have reached out to you sooner. [Because the shift from authoritativeness to unsureness is a dramatic swing for anybody.] I wanted to see how you've been since the notes from Ruana were found. What's your haul look like?

[midgarhorizon]

[Pursing his lips, he's silent for a moment before he answers her.]

Nothing. I'm not doin' it.

[Because he did it last year and that had been terrifying and the fact he'd been under mind control too made things even worse. Ruana could keep her damn games.

But the feeling that something was off with Elena is growing. Something he couldn't quite place yet. She may not have been wearing a costume, but it felt like she should be.]

I'm not playin' her game this time...

[provenworth]

....The hell you're not.

[There wasn't even a need to hesitate before speaking. The pool stick is lifted and roughly laid across the table with an audible 'clack', loafers bringing her closer to the bar.]

This is a Ruana month, Reno. You have to get prepared. Whatever she's got planned, it'll be worse if you do nothing.

[midgarhorizon]

Hey, back off.

[Examining the bottle on second thoughts, he frowns on it. There hadn't been much here when he had started changing from Floor 38 to here, and it has been a long time... was this even the same bottle?

Nah, better not risk it.

At least he can avoid looking at her.]

You know as well as I do if I play her game, she wins by makin' me into one of her toys. Same as I told Shion, win or lose the game, if we play we lose to her. I ain't gonna let that happen. I know the risks. I die, big fuckin' deal.

[His mouth stretches to a long, thin line, cold anger burning away at the paranoia. Before he realizes it, his fist slams into the counter top. He's been so on edge the past few days, so strange and the gnawing feelings eating at him. It couldn't be anything else but Ruana.]

...We're all just fuckin' toys to her, Elena. That's what this's about. Not savin' us from our worlds. She's the one destroying them. Enoch told me and it makes so much damn sense.

[provenworth]

No. I won't.

[She's still coming closer, bristling with carefully controlled frustration. When she finally reaches the bar, she puts both hands flat on the surface, body rocking back and forth just slightly to an unheard beat.]

You can't just up and ignore her or her games, Reno. We already know its a lose-lose situation, but the consequences are worse if you just blow her off. And...and...

[Oh. No. Reno. You didn't just..]

It IS a big fucking deal, Reno. Death isn't just death here, you're losing a little bit of yourself every time.

[When his fist slams against the bar she can feel it vibrating up her hands, but she doesn't withdraw. If anything, she's got her stomach pressed into the bar and she's partially bent over it to get as into his face as she can.]

Yes. We're toys to them. But just because we follow the rules of the games they play doesn't make us puppets. It makes us fucking survivalists. And we have to survive so we can fucking find them and tear their hearts from their chest.

[midgarhorizon]

[Reno stares at her, hard and cold, not backing down for an instant. The feeling she is an imposter, a fake, helped him in his resolve.]

Get it through your head, Elena. I'm not gonna fuckin' playing her game and get other people killed again, like last year. Dying is nothing to that. Don't you tell me that's more important than survival, because I'm damned if I could live with myself after that. I'm not a toy, I'm not gonna act like a toy; if I do, that's a part of me I'm gonna lose here and never get back.

[provenworth]

So you're okay with getting people killed because they're going to have to protect you from yourself? Because that's what's going to happen - the people who care about you are going to throw themselves in front of that bullet. Because that's what we do.

[Hands slap against the top of the bar before she's retreating, crossing her arms angrily over her chest.]

Following along with rules you can't change doesn't make you a toy. How you respond to them, how you manipulate them, makes you a fighter. And if you're too tired to fight right now, then say so and I will fight for you. Shion, Xion will fight as well if we need them.

But don't just sit back, throw your hands in the air, and give up.

[midgarhorizon]

It's not giv- it's n-...

[Reno's voice is cracking, trying to finish what he's saying, but it's so, so hard... fighting against the paranoia, the fears and the unsettling feelings. The certain dread something was going to happen.]

Y-you have no idea what I'm goin' through right now... it's n-not giving up... I'm fighting, El... fighting more than you. And I don't know if I can k-...

[A deep breath, and he steadies himself for a moment, eyes locked on her and his back straight.]

Playin' the game is the easy way, Elena...

[provenworth]

[Alarmed. That's what she was when she stared at him, watching him, listening to him. Like there was something more going on underneath the surface that he wasn't telling her about. She doesn't move despite every voice telling her that she should, her expression uncomfortably neutral.]

If you're fighting something, tell me. I'm here to help you. If not me, then who else are you going to go to for he-

[The posture was wrong. The change too quick. Its her turn to take a slow, deep breath.]

Not if you modify the rules, Red. But if you really choose to not play, then so be it. But don't expect me or the kids to sit by and watch.

[midgarhorizon]

[Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists and dropped his gaze down at her stare.]

...Right now, I'm fightin' not to go runnin' out there and gather all the candy I can. When I look at people, they laugh at me, like I... Like I'm failin' and they're rubbin' my face in it. Looking at you...

[Closing his eyes, he clenched his eyelids together for a moment before opening them up again, this time looking back at her.]

Everythin' is telling me you're not Elena, but it can't be right... nothin' is right. Anything that's comin', it can't be that bad. Can't be. That's all I've got to fight this... knowin' it isn't me.

[His left hand reaches out to her, deceptively sure and steady. A plea for her support and help, to not be angry with him.]

Whatever hold they got on us... I'm not going to let her win. Not when I got you, and Xion, and Shion to fight for. If I can do it... maybe I can save you.

[provenworth]

[Elena doesn't speak, instead listening to everything he says and watching every movement that he makes. There was something wrong with what he was saying - a sense of paranoia perhaps? No, that's what it sounds like and there was little she could do to battle that sort of monster.

At least he was becoming aware that whatever demon was whispering in his head was feeding him lies. Even if it was just the feeling that something was off. That what his eyes saw and his head said didn't match. It was a start.

At the outreaching of his hand towards her, shoulders drop slightly, the anger deflated. She couldn't be mad over something he struggled to control. Moving forward, arms uncrossed and her left hand took his, giving an audible sigh. She struggled with the entire concept of being saved, but if it was something he could focus on, she'd learn to let him rescue her if needed.]

You know we're right here for you, right? The kids and I?

[midgarhorizon]

I know.

[But he doesn't want to burden them with this, not with pain. He knows all too well what it's like watching someone in pain, who was burdened, who didn't know where next to go. He's seen it too often in his life, inn the Turks, and now here.

Squeezing her hand, the paranoia seems to ease, letting his face relax enough to smile, if only slightly.]

Sometimes just knowin' you're nearby is enough. Seeing your name on the door every morning makes me think, "Today, I got reason to fight as hard as I can."

[provenworth]

....You sure?

[Because she knows him well. Too well, one might say. But that's how Turks rolled. And she's not one to shy away when her partner needed taking care of, no matter if it was to keep them company after a nightmare or to work away strain and ache in muscles.

Resting an elbow on the bar, she rests her hand in upturned palm, returning the squeeze with one of her own and a little smile.]

Is that all? Then I guess I'll just stay right here until you're feeling better. And then, if I have to, I'll come see you every morning so you'll have something more than a name plate to read.

[midgarhorizon]

Right now? Yeah. [That's about what he expected, but it still makes him sigh in resignation he wasn't going to get rid of her today. He knew her pretty well, too, even if it isn't as much as the two years she had that he missed out on.

Leaning forward, he met her halfway.]

Sure, you can do that, but remember I said 'bout feelin' like you're not really you.