towerofanimus | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Characters: Master Xehanort and whoever wishes to join him
Setting: Various locations around the tower
Format: Action to start, but I'll follow you.
Summary: Xehanort doing what he does best... whatever he's up to, that is. Also taking your candy because he can.
Warnings: Xehanort.

Floor 32:
[Every now and then, Xehanort scopes out a tree and begins to climb. He doesn't climb all the way, and tends to stop about halfway up. He seems to be looking for something, but whether or not he finds it is difficult to tell. Eventually he climbs back down, brushing leaves and bits of bark off of himself, before heading back to the stairs.]

Floor 22:
[He's not really looking for something specific, and seems to be content with wandering aimlessly, looking up at the portraits every now and then as though trying to judge where he is. It doesn't really seem to matter what manner of art falls before him, he doesn't react adversely or positively and simply takes it in regardless of whether it's someone or something he knows or not.]

Floor 17:
[Why in the world... Xehanort stands, looking around the room carefully as though his eyes can pierce the walls. It's clear from his expression that he expects something more from this place, and that perhaps he's disappointed that it's not manifesting itself. The screaming doesn't seem to bother him much at all, although he carefully avoids the handprints when he begins to tap at the walls.]

Floor 15:
[In the materials storage, he's contemplating what looks like slabs of marble. He raps his knuckles against them as though testing the sound rather than anything else. In one hand is a block of wood... dark red looking wood, perhaps rosewood for those who know their wood types.]

Floor 9:
[On his hands and knees, Xehanort listens to the sounds, deciding if he wishes to go further or not. It's tempting, but the tower is excellent at using the lure of curiosity... ]

Floor 8:
[A last lingering lick of darkness flickers about him as he exits the maze. His expression is thoughtful, although neutral... though he seems guarded, casting his eyes about as though checking to see if anyone has noticed his egress. He heads for the stairs quickly, as though desiring to leave the area with little incident.]

Anywhere:
[There's monsters about aplenty, and he takes down one that's particularly aggressive with ease, freezing it solid with his favourite Glacial Arts before filling the air with a blistering Megaflare, exploding the ice from extreme temperatures and rendering the creature to bits. He stops to stoop down and look over what exactly the creature was protecting...

candy? It doesn't seem out of the ordinary at all. Still, something has to be up with this... he goes to pocket the candy and move on, certain that answers will be easily obtainable soon enough.]

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He'd been making his way down the stairs - having to traverse them with Aqua's body had given him a new appreciation for the way his own worked and he was opting to skip the Corridors of Darkness until he was finished with such a foolish phase - when a young lady came bolting out of nowhere and slammed into him full-force. He'd been knocked off balance, but braces of darkness kept him from toppling and he managed to get himself righted as she was picking up her things. A book? That he could appreciate.

"It's no problem. You weren't injured, I trust?" He smiled pleasantly. Like many of the people he'd seen lately she was thrust into a ridiculous costume... a bit bracing. He kept his eyes at a respectable level so as not to make her feel uncomfortable.

Even though the man smiled at her, his eyes and goatee made him look like a villain out of a story. While Tohko would have like to run away as quickly as possible, she knew that would be rude. Maybe he was just dressed up in a costume, like her, or maybe he was actually nice. Maybe.

"No, I'm alright. Thanks. By the way..I don't think I've seen you before. What's your name?" Since being new to the tower was a pain, especially since there were so many people here, Tohko was trying to learn all the names she could so that she would know who almost everyone here was.

Pleasantries were well enough, and he made a slight bow of his head. "Xehanort," he replied, a little flourish of the hand accompanying his movement. "And you?"

It had been a while since someone had actually physically run into him... it had become a rather amusing way to meet people. Especially on the stairs, where it tended to happen the most.

"Nice to meet you, Xehanort. I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl." Tohko answered. Out of sheer curiosity, she asked, "Are you participating in the candy event? Need any help?" Even though he did look a little creepy, that was no excuse to be rude or not help him if he needed it. She could run away if he started being evil. Not before.

However..Tohko was not as amused as Xehanort was about having bumped into him like that. It was such an overused trope, and it was usually silly, and Tohko was annoyed about having pulled it out.

"A pleasure, Miss Amano." He slowly straighened back out, though keeping his customary hunch. "I am not, though I am most curious about it. Perhaps you could shed some insights into it..."

Miss Amano...if Tohko could be alone for a few moments, she would have been repeating those words in her head over and over again. Not that Xehanort had to call her by that-in fact, she probably would tell him that he didn't have to-but the formality reminded Tohko of a certain fellow back at home who did not show formality at all.

"Let's see..if you're in the candy event, you'll wake up in a weird costume, like the one I have, and a pumpkin bowl will be lying on your trunk. You've seen the candy scattered around the tower, right?" Tohko didn't wait for an answer.

"Well, if you're in the event, you need to collect it. There's a certain amount you have to collect each day, and if you don't, your costume will crush you, and you'll die. There's a pretty harsh penalty for coming back, and I've seen a woman who came back with red skin. She looked..rather creepy."

Well. That was certainly enlightening. It's the first time in a while that he's gotten a straight answer from someone who wasn't directly tied into affairs. He gives a pleased smile and inclines his head again.

"I see. Thank you for the information. That sounds quite unpleasant... certainly up our most hospitable Administrator's alley. Are you new here, Miss Amano?"

"Oh, no problem. And yes, I am a bit new here. How could you tell?" Tohko asked.

"Most people who have been here for any length of time tend to have choice words to say about these sort of things... whether from being informed about this particular Administrator, or having experienced one of his particular stints in power. You have little to say, so either you do not mind his so-called depravations or you have not experienced them in full." He gestures outward grandly as he speaks, traces of amusement evident.

"Right..I see. To be honest, I have no idea which Admin is running the event, so I have no idea who is to blame. Besides, I'm not even sure why this is happening, so I'd have to find out why before I got angry." After all, this whole event could actually be helpful in some way that was unknown. Hurting a small amount of people to protect the majority was something that often popped up in sci-fi novels.

"But you are right. I haven't experienced any of these odd events..except for this candy thing. Maybe you could fill me in? That way, I'll know what to expect in the future!" While Xehanort did look suspicious, he did seem knowledgeable about the tower.

"Oh! And you don't have to call me 'Miss Amano'. Just call me Tohko."

"The one in charge this month - control rotates - is known as Jason. He is considered to be cruel and despicable with his actions, and is prone for experimentation for his own gains. I believe he is most well-known for the events of a few months ago, when a large group of people were subjected to poor living conditions and brutally surgically altered against their will in order to take part in some sort of competition. Most bear him extreme ill will and do not fear letting him know it, though they are often punished for such lapses in judgment."

He takes a moment to consider things before continuing. "It's difficult to say for certain what direction this event will take. It could become something of a bloodbath in a manner of speaking, or perhaps the punishment has yet to be seen. This is merely the beginning, after all..."

Tohko listened hard to what Xehanort had to say, trying to burn the information onto her brain. Jason, huh? What a cruel person. "Aren't any of the other tower administrators a little bit kinder than Jason?" She asked. As for the horrible experimentation that went on a few months ago, while Tohko hated that fact that it happened, she couldn't do anything about it now. However, she promised herself that if it started up again while she was here, she'd try to help as many people as she could.

"This event probably will be a bloodbath, since Jason is pretty cruel. Even if it's not shed now, it probably will be, and I doubt it'll get better until the event is over." Tohko sighed.

"I suppose one could say such a thing. Each of the administrators has their own specialties, although some months are less... invasive than others." Then, of course, there were extenuating circumstances, such as the whale and monsters previous.

"You're quite correct. Soon enough, I expect that those remaining will have to fight for their candy, or perhaps things will simply become more brutal in attempting to obtain it. It's rather unfortunate that your arrival coincided with this... it's quite the inauguration."

Edited (wow half of that got eaten and I don't know how...) 2012-10-20 13:04 (UTC)

"I see..hopefully next month will be a lot better then. And why are some months less invasive than the other ones? Do the Administrators just decide to take a vacation and leave us alone every now and then?" Tohko doubted that happened, but she hoped the comment would clear the melancholy atmosphere.

Tohko sighed. "It is quite a welcoming party..but maybe we could help people get candy so that it doesn't turn into a horrible bloodbath!"

"Not quite. Some are less interested in physical manipulation. Sometimes the events are less... potentially horrific, one could say." Then again, one's personal tolerance would determine how much one could take before they snapped. In a place where death wasn't an issue, people grew hardened quickly, which no doubt encouraged the administrators to up their game.

An altruist, this girl... "That may be a simple task to start with, but I doubt that it will be that simple for long."

"Ah, I see. Well, that's good to hear." Well, so much for getting rid of the melancholy atmosphere. Oh well. "Are any of them interested in mental manipulation?" Tohko wasn't sure if the people here were capable of screwing with the mind, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Her meals could not be found out by anyone.

"Probably...but it can't hurt to try, right?" Tohko wasn't quite sure exactly how hard it would be, but trying would be better than just watching from the sidelines.

"Directly, I do not believe so." He hadn't heard anything about mental coercion, though it may be difficult to pinpoint. Everything else had been rather overt.

"Of course not. Go about it in whatever fashion you wish." He had no desire to dictate how anyone handled the event. He was simply interested in watching the eventual results.

Tohko sighed. "That's a relief." Of course, there was always the possibility that Xehanort was wrong, or that the Administrators could find out how to manipulate a persons mind. However, if her meals could remain a secret for now, that was fine.

"Alright..but what about you? You do know that I was talking about the both of us helping, right?"

"Both of us..?" That gave him pause. He hadn't even dreamed of getting involved in this beyond perhaps leaving candy lying about if monsters happened to attack him. There was little reason to go out of one's way... the rules would change soon enough and he had no intention of getting drawn into this particular event. "I don't recall being a part of it. Even if assistance is given now, there is little evidence that things will stay so simple."

"Well..even if you're not a part of it, you can still help out, right? And it's because things won't remain so simple that we should help." Tohko bit her lip. Was that..a glare she saw just now?

"But I'm not going to force you if you don't want to." She hastily added.

"There are some things that one should simply not meddle in. These affairs are one of them. They have an unpleasant habit of drawing in those outside if one interferes once too often." Whether or not that's true remains to be seen, especially in this particular event. However, he has little desire to get caught up in candy frenzy, and this excuses him from the obligation she seems to have to do good and assist.

Tohko hmphed and glared when she heard that comment. "I don't quite agree with that philosophy. After all, if you use that and look away from whatever is happening around you, you prevent a lot of people from being helped. And if the admins throw monsters in my path to stop me, then oh well. That won't stop me." Tohko then sighed, and closed her eyes.

"However, that is just my opinion. If you want to be a spectator, you can. Just..be aware of what you could be helping." Tohko nodded, hoping he would see that as a farewell, and walked towards the island. She would read for awhile, and when he was gone, she would eat.

"We will see how long the test of altruism holds out, my dear girl." He inclines his head again, giving her his leave. A cycle waiting to repeat... well... watching what happened would be interesting in its own way.

"It's not a test. I'm always like this." Tohko sighed. She turned around briefly and looked at him as she spoke before continuing to walk away.

Xehanort seemed pretty smart..but Tohko remembered too many evil schemers from stories to not be a tad suspicious about him. She'd have to watch him carefully, if the two crossed paths again. Tohko thought on this as she sat down on the island and began to read.

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