Fear and hatred by association [Backdated to the 19th]

[attheclocktower]

Characters: Xion and anyone she stumbles upon
Setting: Floor 2 briefly, then floor 3, Floor 25, & Floor 1
Format: Action to start but I'll follow you
Summary: Given what happened the last time she got a collar checkup, Xion is not thrilled about her next one. This leaves her in an irritable and jumpy mood for the rest of the day. Also she may be keeping an eye out for certain people, given what happened. Castmates I'm looking at you
Warnings: Angst/self-blame, potential mentions of kidnapping and trauma, etc.

[ Floor 2 & 3 ]

[Xion doesn't hang out for long after her collar checkup is over, merely bidding farewell to Axel and heading upstairs to the library, where she finds a random book on some topic she's vaguely interested in, walks over to a chair and jams herself down in it, visibly tense and unhappy and frustrated.

It should be pretty clear that reading isn't helping whatever is bothering her, judging by the fact that here eyes aren't really moving around the page a lot. She also has a tendency to - every once in a while - shut the book, put it down, stand up, and walk back over to the shelves, where she pulls down another book seemingly at random.

It's pretty clear that - as much as she's trying - her mind is elsewhere, and not in a very happy location.]

[ Floor 25 ]

[She's horribly out of practice and she knows it. Between her arm being hurt, being asleep for so long, and all the other things the Tower's thrown her way, her movements feel so rusty... A part of her wonders if it wouldn't be better to do this on actual monsters, the way she used to fight Dusks back in the Hall of Empty Melodies in The World that Never Was. At the same time, it seems foolish to invite trouble in the Tower, and Floor 25 is one of the clearer, more open spaces that she knew about. Maybe there was somewhere on one of the new floors she could train better later.

But for now, she's on floor 25, Keyblade in hand, practicing a series of blocks and basic strikes. The movement helps burn off some of her frustration and unhappiness, and just overall there's a certain... feeling like she's missed this, strange as it may seem to her later. Plus if she ever runs into Vanitas again, she wants to be ready. She doesn't want to be taken by surprise, left for her friends to save and get in trouble for her sake. Maybe she should talk to Aqua about starting those lessons soon...]

[ Floor 1/Dining Area ]

[Grilled fish for dinner. She isn't quite as tired of it as she was getting of soup last month, but she still wishes there was more varieiy to the foods the kitchen provided sometimes. She picks at her plate halfheartedly, sitting in a corner of the dining area, occasionally glancing up and around to see if anybody else is nearby.]

Comments

Floor 3

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu always was the type of student to throw himself into his studies, often losing himself in the pages until he was either called for or he sensed something was off. Today just happened to be one of those days as he entered the library. After all, he often frequents both of them, so it shouldn't really be much of a surprise that he arrives not too long after one of Xion's many trips to the shelves before sitting down again. Though with it having been a while since he'd seen her last and how she was behaving... something felt off.

Unsure if he should approach her at first, he decides to chance it. He couldn't help but want to after watching her simply stare at pages.] ...Hey.

Floor 3

[attheclocktower]

[Xion jumps when she's addressed, her head jerking up. The tension eases a little once she sees who it is, though.

She puts her book down, a little more nervously. She was being pretty loud and noisy and restless for a library, wasn't she? She hasn't been in any ones - besides the one in the Tower - for most of her life, but they always seemed so quiet...]

Hey... Sorry if I was bothering you.

[pitiedthefool]

Nah. I just got here. [He shakes his head, the hint of a warm smile playing in his eyes as he stood there, quietly regarding her. She wasn't being too noisy. On the contrary, it was her behavior that bothered him- but maybe that was because of a power that had been given him.

No, he was pretty sure that it was just him being concerned for a new friend/acquaintance. The smile politely crosses his lips, an attempt to reassure her that she had done nothing wrong - at least here.]

I was just wondering if you mind if I join you.

[Floor 25]

[derping]

[The meadow was one of the places Sora preferred to go when he needed to wander around a little. It was a nice, open area, and usually he didn't have to worry too much about monsters there. Plus, it was a good place for running into people sometimes. Like now.

Sora spots Xion as he's stepping off the stairs - it's hard to miss her, really, since she's running around and swinging her Keyblade all over the place. Even though she may feel like her movements are off, Sora certainly doesn't notice. This is one of the first time's he's been able to just stand back and watch someone use the Keyblade...and actually, he's pretty impressed.

For now, he's just standing back and watching, trying to keep out of her way. He doesn't want to get in the way at all, and besides, he might learn something from this!]

[Floor 25] /reaches for

[attheclocktower]

[The moves she's doing really aren't that complicated. It's hard to do much without at least something to actually hit. Never mind that she doesn't get most of Sora's moveset until she bossforms anyway. Still, to the utter beginner, it probably is a little helpful.

She doesn't have any gears to modify her Keyblade, so she's simply going through the motions of a basic three-strike combo - swinging her key downward over one shoulder, thrusting it along her side and forward, then spinning it around as a finishing strike. She does try some other types of swings and strikes, but that clearly feels the most natural to her. Her basic block meanwhile, involves her holding up her arm in front of her, angling her Keyblade in a downward angle in front of her body.

It's a little while until he realizes she has an audience. She spins around at one point, towards the stairs, and freezes when she sees someone there. Thankfully, the brown, spiky hair makes him pretty easily identifiable, and she drops out of her fighting stance.]

Sora?

♥

[derping]

[Whoops. He figured she'd notice him eventually, though, so he just smiles.]

Sorry! Wasn't trying to bother you, or anything.

[He walks a little bit closer now that Xion isn't practicing, so that they don't have to shout across the meadow to talk.]

I was just watching. I can get out of your hair, though, if you want to practice alone.

Dining Hall

[mamadonna]

[ Dolorosa would have been sharing much of her time these past weeks between the room she shares with Xion and the infirmary, after that spill she took down the stairs. She's been working her way back to her feet since, and insisted on walking herself to the cafeteria this evening.

She eases herself into a chair not far from Xion's, and greets her with a nod. ]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion's noticed Dolorosa's absence, even if she has been preoccupied with a lot of things lately. She doesn't know the reason behind the absences, but... well, she has guesses, and regardless, seeing her roommate is a welcome distraction from her own thoughts.

Still, they haven't spoken too much before, so her own nod in reply is a little shy.] Hey.

[mamadonna]

[ That's one of the benefits of such a modest dress, it hides all manner of bandages and casts and wounds. Even bloodstains could blend with its color. But the difficult thing about Alternian culture is that no matter how much compassion she may have for the weak and infirm, allowing herself to even appear in such a manner was unacceptable.

It was her duty to be strong for others, and so she was aware of every limp and twitch involuntarily made, even as she cut her ham into neat little bites with a smile. ] You are enjoying your meal, I hope.

floor 25 oh ho ho

[capax_infiniti]

[Xehanort has learned that the meadow is a good place to meet people. It's relaxing and quiet and for the most part people appreciate that. It's disarming, which is useful in gaining the trust of others.

It also seems to be popular for those who wish to train. He can feel who it is even with her hood up, but he remains silent, simply watching her untrained movements. It's basic, but she'd said she had little by way of proper training. No doubt at some point she'd wind up with one of the lightbearers. He masked his frown well enough, but it was still irritating.

Probably better to make her aware of his presence now rather than have her feel his presence and become uncomfortable.]

Good day, young lady. Engaging in a bit of training?

[attheclocktower]

[The Organization had never bothered too much with training - not her at least, though Roxas had told stories of some guy named Phil at Olympus Coliseum. So long as she was able to collect Hearts, what did it matter how refined her technique was? She'd undertaken most training herself, wanting to be useful to the Organization.

... but that was a long time ago.

Now she's doing it to protect herself, and those she cares about. She doesn't want them hurt or anything because of her ever again.

The voice from the stairs makes her turn - she'd just finished a combo, so extending the spin a little bit more wasn't that hard, so she was able to slide to a halt facing the stairs and see who it was who'd spoken, though the voice was familiar. She freezes upon catching sight of the arrival, though. Xehanort.

She lowers her Keyblade slowly, though she doesn't ease up on her stance. What should she do...?]

Yeah. [...] A little bit.

[capax_infiniti]

[He hangs back, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by approaching so soon. Perhaps if she relaxes more. For now, he's merely curious.]

Pardon me, I did not mean to interrupt. Please, continue if you wish.

[He guestures casually for her to proceed.]

Dining Area!

[midgarhorizon]

[From behind her, tray set down next to her out of the blue and one of the chairs pulled out. Reno dropped down into the chair and folded his arms on the table, just giving her this kind of look before he spoke.]

Doing all right?

[It was pretty obvious he knew what had happened, though this was the first time Reno had seen her since the incident. Actually, if he thought about it, the last time he saw her was the friendship party.]

:D

[attheclocktower]

[The sudden appearance of the tray and movement startles her out of her thoughts and makes her jump, though she eases a few moments later once she sees who it is.]

Reno!

[Her surprise fades into something a little brighter - s smile, small, but definately there. She is... happy to see him. The way she's happy to see Axel and Roxas. A friend.]

Not too bad, I guess.

[midgarhorizon]

[He looked at her carefully, moving his head around to get a better look at her.]

Just checkin'. I had a talk with Axel.

[That was a hint, just to let her know and acknowledge it, though he was more tactful than just saying it out loud.]

[savedbyasong]

[Shion was stacking books in the library when he saw Xion, he hadn't seen her in a long while and had heard about her collapsing at the party. He had been worried and as he approached he could see she didn't look very happy.]

Hello Xion.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion had just been running her hands over book covers, looking for something vaguely interesting. She'd just discarded yet another book and was searching for something new.

She turns quickly at the sound of her name, a little tense, though it eases once she sees who it is.]

Hey, Shion.

[savedbyasong]

Looking for anything in particular? [Shion spent most his days here, it was his job and it gave him something to do apart from go crazy with fear. He knew where some of the books where.]

Floor 1

[forceless]

[Ven hadn't been much up to doing...anything, really. Not lately. He had been listless and tired, and weirdly enough (though not really weirdly at all), depressed.

That still held true now, because for the most part he had eaten in silence, and was already moving to go back to his room at an uncharacteristically slow and sad pace.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion looked up, still working on her dinner, though when she spots that familiar spiky blonde head, her fork is promptly dropped and her plate forgotten. She jumps to her feet, pushing her chair back.

She glances down at his clothes - just to be sure she's not mixing them up (though really, the only difference would be which name she called - she still wanted to see them both), before running over in his direction, calling out]

Ven!

[forceless]

Huh...?

[He slowly turned around when he heard a female voice call his name. Who was that again...? He was sure he knew this girl, but her name kept escaping him.]

Who... [His brow furrowed, and he looked to be thinking hard for a moment, before he spoke again, his tone daring to rise just a bit.] Xion...?

[drknss_bnd_lght]

.... [Ventus paused at the sound of someone training in the meadow, head tilting. Who was it? The question was there, on the tip of his tongue,, But so what the panic, the mind numbing fear and sensation of choking.

A deep breath, trying to clear his mind - along with a head shake to clear the question away. No, he couldn't - wouldn't ask any question.

Another deep breath and he takes a step forward, swallowing just a little. He'll never admit it, but he's still on high alert, in case he runs into Him again.] Uhh..

I am so sorry this is so late orz

[attheclocktower]

[The voice is a little quiet for her to hear, caught up as she is in her practice, but as with Sora, she eventually realizes that there's someone watching. She turns to look and... oh. It's the one who looks a lot like an older Ven. The one who wore a blindfold, like Riku.]

Hello?

Floor 3 quality tagging

[metawoof]

Oh my god, you're actually awake!

[Hi Xion there is a girl in a top hat and a bright rainbow-y striped jacket staring at you through her glasses what do.]

lskgjalsfd- ily

[attheclocktower]

[Xion jumps at the sudden exclamation, turning to see... her roommate. Huh. ]

Uh.... yes...?

[SHE'S BEEN AWAKE FOR A WEEK ROOMMATE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN.]