towerofanimus | ☆ 002 : WARM-UP ☆ "All of us contain Music & Truth, but most of us can't get it out."

Entry tags:

☆ 002 : WARM-UP ☆ "All of us contain Music & Truth, but most of us can't get it out."

Characters: Rise Kujikawa and YOU!
Setting: Floor Twenty-Eight, the Music Room, or prettymuch anywhere else you want.
Format: Prose and Action both A-OK; you pick and I'll follow your lead!
Summary: Rise does her best to get in a little vocal practise for the (possible) upcoming Gas Chamber, Tower Edition show. Make a song request, pick up an instrument and join in, just listen...that part's all up to you. :]
Warnings: Event-related things, perhaps...or maybe she just has the regular flu. :3 Otherwise nothing.

Rise stood behind the electronic keyboard, shoulders relaxed, arms by her sides. Breathing in slowly, she hummed a low note (try to find the note where you feel maximum vibration in your lower abdomen) as she exhaled, one hand pressed to her midriff. After repeating that a few times, she shivered and huffed out a sigh instead, breaking the rhythm. But well, at least it was easy to make sure she was doing her breathing exercises right, since thanks to the cold, she could see every breath that left her mouth.

The cold did make it pretty hard to play the piano well, though--not that she was AMAZING at it even under normal conditions, but she was far from terrible, on the upper side of average at the very least. A singer who couldn't read music at all or play an instrument at least a little would be an embarrassment to her agency, and Rise was a quick study anyways.

After rubbing some circulation back into her fingers, she got to work on playing--and singing--some scales.

(It's nothing too interesting at first, but if you wait for a while, she might start practising an actual song or two...or maybe not. She might just start coughing instead...)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nesir gave a week smile and nodded, she didn't think music would be very useful to her but it was something Rise enjoyed and a way to get closer to her roommate.

Plus even if she was a bit of an idiot Nesir didn't mind spending time with Rise, she reminded her a lot of Ral with her cheerful attitude and random kindness.

As demonstrated in the next offer. Nesir blinked at her, "They did be no sending me any when they did be giving me clothes." She shrugged as if it didn't matter though she was freezing and terrified that she would get frost sickness. Her left hand automatically went to touch the space where her fingers should have been on her right.

"Do... Do you no be needing them?" She sneezed and looked annoyed.

"Well, I c-can only wear one pair of sh-shoes at a time, right? A-and cold as it is, you're d-definitely w-welcome to 'em!"

Even if she was shivering so much she was stuttering a little now, Rise still noticed the movement of Nesir's hand. She hadn't missed those missing fingers, but she'd never felt comfortable asking about them. She still didn't--it was really more something that the other person just needed to volunteer, she decided, and stayed silent.

"W-we can go get 'em r-right now if you want. You've gotta be f-freezing!"

Rise knew she didn't have to go with her roommate--it wasn't like Nesir couldn't take whatever she wanted from her trunk at any given time anyway--but climbing some stairs sounded like a good way to warm up a little.

"Th... thank you..." Nesir didn't like being given things without an exchange, being in people's debt annoyed her. But at the moment she was too cold to care, she would find a way to make it up to her later. She nodded and grinned despite the cold, thinking the same as Rise, at least the tower was so huge with a lot of stairs.

Rise was out from behind the keyboard and joining Nesir at the door in seconds.

"N-no problem! What're f-f-friends for, right? Now c-c'mon, let's go!"

Without a backwards glance, Rise headed for the stairs and their room.

Nesir nodded though she wasn't really sure what friends were for. She had never had any use for them before. But since Ral was the only person she could truly call a friend (and Lotte but that was different), and this was something he would do she guessed Rise had a point.

Nesir followed her to their room still shivering. "Do... do it be getting this cold where you do be coming from?"

Moving around had helped her warm up, sort of, but she was still shivering uncontrollably, and climbing a bunch of stairs hadn't helped the dizziness or the bone-deep feeling of exhaustion. What Rise really wanted to do was sink down on her bed and not move again for at least a few hours, but instead she went to her trunk, digging beneath her summer uniform and the costume she'd gotten from 'winning' the Halloween event, and pulling out the promised pair of soft brown boots.

"It can get pretty cold...but that's only outside, and only for part of the year," she said, eying Nesir's feet analytically as as she handed over the shoes. Rise's build was very petite, right down to her feet, but those boots had always been a little big on her; they should fit. "Most people have houses that keep out the cold pretty well, plus heaters and winter clothes and plenty of blankets and hot food to warm them up."

That done, she retreated to her bed and her blankets, any thoughts of continuing her practise session in the Music Room abandoned. "What about your world? Does it get this cold there?"

Edited 2012-12-21 01:07 (UTC)

"Thank you." Nesir took the shoes with a grateful smile and sat down to pull them onto her feet, they were about right, Nesir was quite small for her age. She coppied Rise's example and pulled her sheets around her to keep warm.

"Where... where I did be growing up it did no be cold at all. It did be hot and did no be even raining that much. But where the temple did be being was up a mountain and it did be snowing there a lot." She shivered again and stopped to cough. "I did be thinking it did be cold but it did no be as cold as here and even trainees did be being allowed to be sitting by the fire and the food did be hot."

They'd hung out a little here and there, but they hadn't really had many serious conversations, or talked about their home worlds much other than the time they'd first met. Rise still didn't know a lot about Nesir's background; now seemed as good a time as any to ask. She didn't want to make her talk about it if she didn't want to though (and judging by those two missing fingers, Nesir probably hadn't had the easiest life back home), so she started with a very open, very general question, and left it to Nesir how much detail she went into with her answer.

"You were raised in a temple?"

Nesir had her own reasons for being open; it may encourage Rise to be and Nesir was always wanting to know more. The idea of other worlds fascinated her.

So she didn't mind giving out her own information at all; especially since most of her 'story' was a lie, one given to her by Elena before she went to the temple. It had served her well there and would continue to here she hoped.

"I did be going to the temple when I did be twelve before that I did be growing up in an inn. My parents did be owning it."

Rise would probably be pretty willing to answer just about any question about her world--she did like to talk, at least if she liked the person--but she wouldn't've wanted to be the only one talking, either. She wanted to know about Nesir's world, too!

"Wow... One of my friends back home is the daughter of some innkeepers, too. The Amagi Inn... Their place is really nice, and kinda a little bit famous! But then again, it's only a small town, so there's not much else to draw people in." The inn, the murders, the movie filming nearby, and a former idol who worked in her grandma's tofu shop...that was about all Inaba had, really, publicity-wise.

"So what kind of temple was it?" Are you a shrine maiden? she wanted to add, but...in some places, and especially on other worlds, that might not be the compliment it would usually be taken as back home. She might not be as good at schoolwork as Yu-senpai or Yukiko-senpai (she couldn't be, she'd been way too busy with her work as an idol to focus on her studies), but Rise still knew enough about world history to know that it wasn't always a respectable, semi-revered job.

"Why did it be famous?" Nesir asked, she had never lived in a small town before though she knew some at the temple who had come from tiny villages or isolated farms. She had grown up in a sprawling city where it was easy to get lost and live unknown. Nesir wasn't sure she would like a small town.

"It did be mostly a temple for magic people. There do be five gods that do be ruling my world, and they do be granting powers. Those born with magic can be going to the temple to be learning and becoming priests or priestesses." Nesir explained. It was strange, since anyone in her own world would automatically know what the Temple was.

"There do be also a school for warriors there, for people who do be being without magic who do be training to fight so they can be a protector of a priestess or priest. They do be being chosen by one and be fighting at their side. That do be what I do be being, though I do only be an Acolyte not a full warrior yet."

"I guess it's famous because it's kinda old-fashioned. Traditional-style places like that are really pretty popular back home. Plus, the hot springs are really nice, and super relaxing!" Having lived in both, Rise couldn't really pick between the city and the country. They both had their good points, and their bad points too, but as far as she was concerned, location wasn't the thing that really determined how happy she'd be. She'd been pretty miserable in the city and in the country... at least until she'd learned to truly accept herself, and gotten to know Senpai and the rest of the Investigation Team.

"I see...so magic is pretty normal thing where you're from, huh? People don't really believe in magic much at all back home on my world." And since she couldn't use Kanzeon's abilities outside of the TV world, she couldn't do a thing to prove them wrong, even if she'd wanted to.

"And wow, you're in training to be a warrior? That's so cool!" She huddled down in her blankets a little more, her smile going a little sad. "I don't really know anything about fighting...I wish I did, though--especially now that I'm here. I don't want to be a burden to my friends..."

Nesir didn't understand that, old places were just old. People wanted new places, that's why they kept building. But she knew other worlds were different so she just shrugged and nodded.

"It do be, it do revered, people with magic do be important." Nesir couldn't imagine a place where magic was uncommon enough that people didn't believe in it. Sure enough there were one or two places at certain times where magic was outlawed, or supposed to be outlawed in her world but such laws never stuck and those that made them were soon removed from power.

She tilted her head at Rise, "Then you should be learning instead of being wishing. Wishing do no be making you stronger." She smiled in an attempt to take the sting out of her words, though the sting was meant. Nesir had little time for people who didn't work for what they wanted, who didn't fight for what they wanted.

But she had met people at the temple who had grown up in places where there was no opportunity to learn, "I can be teaching you if you do be wanting."

"Well, there wasn't really any use for learning to fight back home, and I'm not all that strong anyway. Plus, my schedule was always super-busy--I just didn't have time to learn things like that, even if my manager had let me. But here..."

Here, they were practically made of time. And although she wasn't very big or physically strong, knowing how to fight even a little might help. So Rise took the sting in those words in stride and gave her roomie a smile in return.

"Really? That would be great!"

Nesir just raised her eyebrows at the flurry of excuses, but her face softened when Rise agreed. Nesir had taught a little bit before, it was one of the duties of an acolyte. "What do you be wanting to be learning? I can be teaching you daggers but since you do no be having any it might be better to be teaching you to be fighting with no weapons first.

"I'll learn whatever you think I should learn first! You're the expert here, after all...but yeah, you're right, maybe hand-to-hand fighting is the best place to start."

She didn't much relish the idea of fighting monsters with her bare hands, but everyone had to start somewhere, and at least it would give her some sort of combat ability, however slight. Anyways, it was something to do, a worthwhile way of spending her time, and with someone she really rather liked. ~~And wouldn't Yu-senpai be surprised if she ever got good enough to show him her moves...~~

"...Did you want to start now, or later? I'm not feeling so great, but I'd still definitely be willing to give it my best shot if you wanted to get to work right away."

Nesir nodded, thinking some more. Unarmed was a good place to start because it would be the basis for any weapons she wanted to pick up in the future. And if she had truly never fought before there would be a lot of basics to pick up.

"We could be starting now," Nesir said with a tilt of her head, "It would be a way to be warmer."

"Right then!" Rise did her best to bounce to her feet, though she couldn't hide a serious shiver as she left her blankets behind. "Do we have enough room in here for now, or should we head to the gym?"

Nesir jumped up as well, hating the cold but knowing that fighting would at least help them keep warm. "We can be going to the gymnasium, I will be racing you, it can be warm up!"

...Ooh, ohoho, a challenge! She might not be strong, but Rise was in good shape, and she was pretty fast! Most of the time, anyway, since the flu was making her kinda wobbly...but still!

"You're on!" Rise laughed, shoving her weariness aside and immediately bolting for the door, giggling the whole way.

Nesir was weak from the flu as well but she chased Rise out the door, laughing as well. She wasn't the fastest acolyte but she could go on for a long time, since the temple had them running laps before breakfast every single day.

She took the stairs two at a time on level with Rise now.

If it had been just her, she would've stopped running once she reached the stairs; but this was a race, and Rise was nothing if not competitive, even over silly things like this.

Still smiling, the idol picked up her own pace, determined not to let Nesir pull ahead. She wouldn't lose!

Nesir was just as competitive and although she had spent the last few years complaining about having to do endless laps every single day she had found she missed being so active in the tower.

And it was a wonderful way to keep warm. Even if her head still felt fuzzy with illness.

Normally Rise would've been fine, maybe just a little out of breath, after sprinting down all those stairs--being an idol and hours of dungeon-crawling were both a lot of work, so she'd gotten plenty of exercise. But thanks to being sick, she's dizzy and gasping for breath by the time she reaches the gym floor.

"...Man...ten flights of stairs seems like a lot when you don't feel so good...huh, Nesir-chan?"

They'd been so close together and she'd been too focused on actually getting there to pay attention, so Rise didn't know for sure who had won. Maybe it was a tie?

When Nesir had challenged Rise to the race she hadn't expected the girl to be this good, by five flights down she realised that she had completely underestimated her.

And began to enjoy herself, so much that even when she reached the gym floor half a footstep behind Rise she didn't mind at all but grinned, her breath billowing in clouds in front of her.

"You do be good," she gasped trying to get enough breath back that the world would stop spinning. "At least...." she broke off to cough, "We do be warm..."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject