[.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

[tohko_amano]

Tohko nodded and patted the girl on the head.

"Don't worry, I understand. Since she's your friend, it'd be nice to have her around, but you wouldn't want her to suffer. But..I think it would be best if you two were able to see each other again, even here. After all, bad things are a little bit more tolerable when you have friends around you."

[lethechained]

That pat was thoroughly unexpected, and her eyes widened, her body going still. She recovered soon enough, however, careful to smile again quickly. It seemed like an innocent enough gesture, just a surprising one as well.

"Exactly. That's just what I meant." That smile flickered larger. "You know, it's funny-- I think I'd say the same, if our places were switched." The part about wanting them to be together again, that was.

[tohko_amano]

Tohko lightly chuckled at that. "I guess that means our thinking is similar-at least, in that regard." Tohko wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but she was happy to see that there was someone here who was similar to her, thought-wise.

[lethechained]

Her smile widened. "I guess so. Hopefully it won't come back to bite us." Meant humorously, of course, as her tone and growing smile made clear. It was always nice to find a kindred spirit, at least in certain aspects.

[tohko_amano]

Tohko chuckled again and patted her head. "I don't think it will! However, if you ever need any help with something or have a question, don't hesitate to ask me, alright?"

[lethechained]

This time, Naminé was considerably more prepared, and there was a lot less tension involved. Smile widening, "Me neither." To the last part a pleasantly surprised nod, and, "Alright...! But only if the same goes for you, okay?"

[tohko_amano]

Tohko smiled and nodded. "Good! I'm glad to hear that. And don't worry! If I need your help with something, I'll be sure to come and ask you for it!"

[lethechained]

Her own smile grows easier. "Okay. Thank you, and-- I won't forget."

[tohko_amano]

"Oh, no problem! I'm always happy to help..and I'm glad you won't forget."

Tohko thought it was odd that she should tack that onto the end of her sentence. Did she have memory problems?

"By the way, what's your name? It's going to be hard to help you if I don't know it!"

[lethechained]

'Problems' in the looser sense of the word, perhaps; the problems Naminé had with memories were not the problems most people had with them. She just nodded at the end of that, smile unhelpful as to what she might really mean.

"-- Oh! Of course, how silly of me...!" She looked appropriately apologetic for forgetting such a thing. (Ironically again not related to normal memory problems.) "My name is Naminé."

[tohko_amano]

Tohko chuckled and scratched her head. "Oh, it's alright! Don't worry about it! It's nice to meet you, Namine! I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl!"

[lethechained]

"It's nice to meet you, too, Tohko." Naminé was glad there didn't seem to be any offense taken at the slip up, though her curiosity was quick to distract her from that relief. "'Book girl'? Why are you called that?" Though it wasn't the strangest addendum to be made when they were meeting in a library, she supposed.

[tohko_amano]

And Tohko's grin just got even bigger.

"Because I love and know more about books than anyone else! After all, who else can tell you why Bulgakov burned his first draft of The Master and Margarita in despair or why Barrie created Peter Pan and how weird his first draft of the story was, or whether or not No Longer Human is an autobiographical tale or not! And there are even fewer people who can tell you that they've solved a murder-mystery with nothing but their wits, luck, and love of books!"

Tohko gushed as she spoke and quickly added, "So, that's why I'm the book girl." before stopping.

[lethechained]

It wasn't hard at all to follow in the beginning, and thus her smile was healthy, then. Though as Tohko continued, Naminé's lips slowly formed into a surprised 'o'; she didn't know the first thing about most of those books - save for the name Peter Pan, which was quite a strange thing to hear, but perhaps not as much so as it would have been if she hadn't already seen the movie version of Beauty and the Beast and learned of those sorts of situations before - and wasn't even familiar with most of the titles. There was a blink and then another, and then that smile was back, accompanied by a small laugh.

"I see what you mean...! I've never even heard of most of those. It sounds like you've really earned the title. It's good that the Tower has a library for you, then." There was a pause, then, half-playfully but sincerely curious, "Why did Barrie create Peter Pan?"

[tohko_amano]

Tohko returned the chuckle and nodded. "You should read them then! They're really delicious and wonderful! I promise you, you'll enjoy them! And it is good that there's a library here. I'd go insane without it."

Tohko then grinned and started talking again.

"You see, Barrie was good friends with a woman named Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and he often told her sons stories that involved Peter Pan. Inspiration also came from his elder brother's death, as Barrie's mother was terribly affected by the event, and Barrie thought that the idea of an immortal boy would make her happy. Of course, Barrie has always wanted to be an author, so this was also an opportunity to write, even if Peter Pan did start out as a play."

[lethechained]

"You know, I think I will have a look. Thank you for the recommendation." It was definitely nice to have some direction. Mostly when she went to the library, she'd just go for whatever seemed to have an interesting title - at least with recreational reading.

"Huh...! That's so sad...! I mean-- it's sweet that he wanted to help, but...." She shook her head. "Life is strange that way, I think. People can grow so much from experiencing hardships. Or-- write books, I suppose."

[tohko_amano]

"Oh, no problem! Let me know what you think of those books, alright?!" Tohko was always happy to recommend books to people, no matter the person and no matter what the book.

Tohko sighed and nodded.

"It is a little sad..but it's kind of sweet that those experiences managed to bring Peter Pan into being. Life is a little strange that way..but it's also pretty nice in that regard as well. In real life, and in stories, people can learn from the worst hardships, stand up after the worst of blows, and can still manage to scream and kick god in the teeth after all hope is lost. Things like that are just wonderful!"

[lethechained]

"Of course. It's the least I could do." She'd likely never have read them at all without the recommendation, after all.

"Mm." Even if she wasn't sure about kicking deities in any part of their anatomy. Well, maybe if they deserved it and it would actually accomplish something, but-- "The heart can be so strong. It's amazing, no matter how many wonderful things I hear of people accomplishing."

[tohko_amano]

"Well..I'm not sure about 'the least you could do', but if you wanted to read them and enjoyed them, that would be great."

Tohko nodded, smiling. "It is pretty surprising. People can undergo so much pain and have their hearts smashed..and keep going on, despite the pain and despite their scars. They even manage to heal sometimes. It really is quite amazing."

[lethechained]

The mention of hearts being smashed has her straightening slightly with a sudden blink, and a moment later, her eyes avert for a few seconds before returning to the other girl. "... Yes. It is. It's... wonderful and terrible, all at the same time."

[tohko_amano]

Tohko looked at Namine for a moment, puzzled, trying to make sense of her reaction. It was like she thought hearts could actually be smashed like that. Maybe they could be, in her universe. It made her think about a certain blue-haired boy that had experimented on hearts. Just remembering it made her sigh, but she didn't comment on it.

"..That it is. But it usually turns out to be wonderful rather than bad most of the time."

[lethechained]

Naminé did not miss the look or the sigh, but also refrained from comment. The truth would probably be a bit too strange for discussion, and perhaps also an unwise topic for other reasons.

"Mm. But--... I guess... it's just sad, how much so many people have to go through, even if they do come out of it stronger than before."

[tohko_amano]

After dealing with everyone in the Tower and being a bit strange herself, nothing would be too weird for Tohko. However, she smiled a little at Namine's comment.

"It is a little sad..however, thanks to that pain, characters and people are able to understand things a little better and grow. Sadness and pain makes them stronger."

[lethechained]

Nor would many things be too strange for Naminé, but she is mindful of telling others things that would trouble them, be it because of the tone of the subject matter itself or because it was cause for confusion.

"Yes.... I've... seen a lot of that happen before." She shook her head. "It seems like it's just the way the worlds work." It was just a shame that they had to be that way.

[tohko_amano]

Tohko nodded.

"I've seen that happen at home too, and I've read of it too. However, even though that's the way the universes work, it's not a bad thing. Without understanding pain, one cannot understand joy. It's like they say at home: The world is not beautiful, therefore, it is. By realizing the sad and bitter things, you see the good and sweet things as well."