[.oo8] A Compulsion of Memory [OPEN]

[lethechained]

Characters:  Naminé (OU) and any passersby.
Setting: Floor 11/later in the day Floor 3, December 26th
Format:  Responder's choice.
Summary:  Naminé's Christmas present from the Tower has put her in a strange mood.  Studying ensues, resultant exhaustion included.
Warning:  Memories/possible reference to kidnapping, violence, death etc. pretty much only as a past occurrence.


Floor 11

  [Someone is seated at the edge of the lake, right in front of one of the waterfalls that empty into it.  A couple of blankets are gathered around her, probably taken from her bed.  Wrapped around her and even forming something a hood over her head, only a few strands of golden hair visible from behind her, they offer some amount of defense against the cold as she works.  Curiously, there appears to be a small doll also tucked into the blankets, on the edge of them not far from the girl's right side.  On her left, some distance away from her but close enough to imply that it belongs to her (whether she likes it or not) is a white cage, about the right size to house a small bird.  It is empty.]

  [Those who are familiar with it or have the sense for it may recognize, even before getting close enough to see what she's doing, that she seems to be practicing magic.  Persistently, over and over as if training, she reaches out pale, slender hands to form glowing barriers against the falling water, allowing it to flow off over the edges of the spell but attempting to maintain or strengthen that shield as best she can.  Other times, she does something else entirely, using another sort of magic to stop portions of the water entirely, as if they are frozen in time, though this, too, wears off eventually.  Over time, she is becoming more skilled.]

  [It looks like something has encouraged Naminé to do a little studying.]

Floor 3

 [Later in the day, Naminé can be found in the library, several books relating to magic spread out on the table before her, the doll next to them and the cage on a chair by the far side of the table.  Unfortunately for her, it seems she's done a little TOO much studying today, because she's out cold, head on her arms which are folded over the one book she was trying to use to FINALLY take a break, a book of fairytales (ironically) open to the story of Sleeping Beauty.  The blankets are still wrapped around her, but in her sleep it has fallen from around her shoulders and now rests mostly against the chair itself.]

Comments

[lethechained]

[Which doesn't escape Naminé's notice, although she makes no immediate comment, so it's hard to tell whether she thinks much of it. Her eyes flicker briefly over her own dubiously welcome items, and for a second she wonders if Xion has noticed them, but there are other things to address, and perhaps it would be better not to ask.]

... I see. I'm... sorry to have disturbed you, then.

[She pauses very briefly at that last part.]

Yes, I'm fine. I've just... been very busy today, that's all. [Does it count as changing the subject when she says--] What are you reading? [It's not accusatory in the slightest, it's just a legitimate question, said more conversationally than the rest of her words.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion hesitates for a moment, lifting up her hand and looking at Vexen's notes. While... it was true she was still self-conscious about it, maybe Namine would know something. Or maybe that was silly to expect but... at last she puts her hand down on the table.]

Just... things about human brains and thoughts and things... I don't think what I'm looking for is in here.

[Since she's looking for memories. She takes a deep breath, then slides then slides the notes over in Naminé's direction.]

I found these, when I woke up.

[The handwriting is very distinctive, and even through all the jargon it's pretty clear by the first page who it's about, and who it was written by.]

[lethechained]

[Naminé studies the girl across the table as she hesitates but does not make any move to force the issue, or really any extraneous move or sound at all. The witch is a patient girl, after all, and it is only when Xion speaks the first time that Naminé blinks unnecessarily, head tilting subtly. Still, she does not ask why, just reaches out to draw the offered book carefully toward her, nudging any other books in the way out of it.]

[There's a sense of foreboding in her, something she didn't recognize right away thanks to her own... discomforts today. But as soon as she sees that writing it clicks, and it doesn't take her long to realize what she's reading, her expression darkening.]

... So they did it to you, too.

[She pauses, then withdraws her hand from the book, leaving it open on the table before her. She half-wants to remove her eyes from it, as well, but she owes it to Xion to glean what she can from it.]

It seems the Tower has decided to remind us both of some things. [There's a brief pause, and then she raises her eyes back to the other girl, smile absent, and pointedly does not let her eyes stray anywhere near that cage or that doll on their way. Still, her tone is gentle when she says,]

What exactly is it that you're looking for?

[attheclocktower]

[The statement that Naminé makes causes Xion to stare slightly curiously. Did what, and what had Naminé been reminded of? The fact that Naminé avoided drawing attention to her own uncomfortable reminder keeps Xion from noticing it (yet), but it's only asking Xion the question that keeps Xion from posing one of her own.

Instead, she looks down and away. What is she looking for? That... is a good question. Xion waffles over it, trying to figure out an answer that sounds good and makes sense. Because it's important? Important to what? And that still didn't explain what she was looking for. Justifications? Something to make her feel like she wasn't just a thing? Nothing works. Nothing sounds right.]

I just... want to understand.

[Vague, and not exactly a direct answer to the question, but it's the least wrong-sounding of anything Xion's come up with.]

[lethechained]

[For a moment, Naminé just looks at her. And then, knowingly, she nods.]

Most people would, I think.

[Her eyes fall toward the book before her again, regarding it without serious focus; she knows what the pages it's open to hold already.]

I don't know if you'll find your answers in this book. But... I do think it's worth looking. If would like me to... I can help you search.