001 ♃ Sheba and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

[seekinganswers]

Characters: Sheba and YOU!
Setting: Room 2-05 | Dormitory Level 2 | Floor 01 | Floor 03 | Anywhere else interaction may lead - she's exploring and getting a feel for the Tower, after all!
Format: Starting with brackets, but I'll follow you!
Summary: Sheba wakes to find that she's been "rescued" from her presumed-to-be-destroyed world. This would be less of a slap in the face if she hadn't spent the last couple of months on a quest which practically everyone assumed was going to - you guessed it! - destroy her world. Oops.
Warnings: Nothing really, but I'll edit this if that changes.

[ROOM 2-05]
[Sheba's heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to beat right out of her chest. There was someone there, she couldn't see where exactly there were but she could practically feel someone there, they'd been there for at least twenty seconds, maybe more, why couldn't she scream, why--

Praise everything, she could move! Trembling, she rolled over onto one side, and the feeling slowly began to fade away. Had someone been there? She wasn't sure... It had seemed so real then, but now she was starting to feel a little silly, even with her heart beating wildly and her breathing coming shallowly... There didn't seem to be anyone in this room other than...

Wait. This room... what...?]

Where--?

[She eased herself up into a sitting position and gave the room a cursory once-over.]

This... isn't Mars Lighthouse. It isn't even Prox.

[She drew her knees up to her chest and frowned when she realized that not only were her surroundings different, her clothing was, too. She'd never seen a jumpsuit like this in Weyard... what in the world...?

Her entire mind felt jumbled. Felix had lit the Mars beacon -- and then what? She just couldn't remember, but they must have gotten off the Lighthouse Aerie somehow... She'd have remembered if it had been a repeat of Venus. But why couldn't she remember? He'd cast the Mars Star and then... and then...

Her gaze rested on a nearby piece of paper and she hesitantly reached out to take it. She scanned its contents once, twice. Her face went absolutely pale and the letter slipped out of her hands.]

It can't be...

[DORMITORY LEVEL 2]
[She still felt numb, but sitting around had never helped anyone. She'd been through enough unpleasant situations in her life to know that sometimes you just had to force yourself to keep going. This was one of those times.

The collar was strange, but luckily she'd found her usual clothes in the trunk at the foot of her bed. That, at least, made her feel a little less awkward in this new environment. She'd also found her staff, which she was gripping rather tightly in both her hands as she slipped through the doorway and out into the hall.

...okay... just this level was a lot bigger than she thought it was going to be. She took a breath. She could do this. It was just... going to take a little more time than she thought it was, that's all.

Rule number one of surviving in an unfamiliar place: Make it stop being unfamiliar as quickly as possible. That meant exploring. Presumably, she was meant to be living in that room, so she needed to make sure she knew exactly where it was, exactly how to find it, and exactly what was nearby.

She needed to know if there were others here. If they were friendly, hostile... and she needed to know fast. The fastest way to do that would be mind reading. And while she wasn't sure if she'd like what she found here or not, she had to at least try.

The privacy of others was the least of Sheba's concerns, at this point. So as she walked down the hall, trying to commit as many details to memory as she could, she called upon her Psynergy and cast it out around her, listening closely for the thoughts of others to see if there was anything interesting - or useful - that she might hear.

Anyone with the ability to use or detect magical energy would most likely notice the attempted intrusion into their minds. There was nothing subtle about the Mind Read Psynergy.

She sure looked like just another lost newbie wandering the hall, though.]

[FLOOR 01]
[The elevator that had taken her from the dormitory levels down to the first floor was nothing like the elevators in the Elemental Lighthouses. That was just another entry on Sheba's mental list of things that were absurdly strange about this place, and while she was, at first, a little apprehensive about actually getting into the strange metal contraption, well, she'd faced more frightening things in her life. What was being shut into a metal box compared to fighting a "miraculous" three-headed dragon?

Still, she couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief as the doors opened and she stepped out onto the first floor. It wasn't as frightening as some things she'd seen, but it was still weird.

The dining hall wasn't so weird, though. There hadn't really been anything of this scale in Lalivero, but Babi's palace had been huge, and though she'd taken her meals in her own room, she knew that many of his soldiers all took their meals in a single mess hall. This was sort of what she imagined it would look like, just... a little more pristine than she was used to. Babi's palace hadn't been messy by any means, but the sleekness of this strange tower made the palace look downright old-fashioned.

She sniffed. It smelled like... eggs? She hadn't had eggs in a very long time. Traveling fare had been pretty basic - the less said of some of their attempts to cook on the road, the better. Eggs were definitely something she'd learned to go without. But she supposed they wouldn't be too bad now... She stepped into the cafeteria and made her way up to get some food.]

...how did I wind up with this...?

[Minutes later, she was seated at a small table, staring down at her bowl of oatmeal with an expression that bordered on petulant. It wasn't bad compared to some of the... rather creative attempts at meals her traveling companions had made - she winced a little at the thought, because she hadn't seen any of them yet, and if that note had been telling the truth, she never would again - but it just seemed somewhat... lacking, compared to what she could see other people eating.

With a sigh, she spooned up a small bite and brought it to her mouth. Well, it wasn't bad... She'd had worse when it had been Jenna's or Garet's turn to cook. It just... wasn't good, either...]

[FLOOR 03]
[Her first meal finished, Sheba had decided to continue her exploration of the tower. She'd done little more than just glance in at the infirmary - she hadn't been injured just yet, after all - and had continued on up the stairs.

The library was... breathtaking.]

Kraden, look--

[She cut herself off mere moments after speaking. The old scholar would have loved this floor, she was sure... but he wasn't here anymore. She swallowed hard and approached one of the shelves. The titles all sounded... academic. Complicated. Maybe even boring.

Kraden would have loved these.

She turned away from the shelf with a little more force than was really necessary, blinking rapidly. It was just starting to sink in...

Kraden... Jenna... Piers... Felix...

All the others...

Faran... his family...]

I'm never going to see them again.

[They were gone. Weyard was gone. It was... it was...

She took a deep breath and counted to three. It didn't help - she was starting to tremble again. Frustrated with herself for not being able to keep it in, she grabbed the thickest book she could find, hurried to the nearest chair, and sank into it.

She opened the book, not really caring what page she was on as long as it gave her something to focus on other than the fact that all the people she'd ever cared about were gone.]

Comments

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko returned the smile and nodded.]

I'm glad that I have been..but if I can give you any more help, don't hesitate to ask.

[seekinganswers]

Yes, I'll let you know.

I take it I'll most likely be able to find you on this floor...?

[tohko_amano]

Good. I'm glad to hear that.

[Tohko then smiled and nodded.]

Of course! I am a book girl, after all.

[seekinganswers]

[She smiled.]

I guess I should be going, then. There's... a lot more floors in this tower and I've only come this far.

[tohko_amano]

Ah, alright then. Do you want me to come with you?

[seekinganswers]

I wouldn't mind the company. I don't want to take you away from what you're doing if it's important, though.

[tohko_amano]

Oh, don't worry! I was just finishing up, to be honest with you. I wouldn't mind exploring with you.

[seekinganswers]

That would be nice, then... thank you. Where would you recommend? I was planning on just taking the Tower a floor at a time.

[tohko_amano]

Oh, you're welcome. And I don't have a problem with that plan. That's actually pretty smart.

[seekinganswers]

Do you know what's in the floor above this one?

[The whole point of looking was exploration, but she'd still feel a little better if she knew what to expect.]

[tohko_amano]

The floor above us should be a lounge floor.

[seekinganswers]

A lounge, huh...

[So far, this place seemed pretty normal. Dorms, a cafeteria, a library, a lounge...]

And above that?

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko nodded.]

Yup, a lounge! And above that is a security station and a viewing area. I wouldn't look into the viewfinders though..they'll just fill you with sadness, loss, and melancholy. Another cruel joke of the Administrators.

[seekinganswers]

...

The more I hear about these Administrators, the less I like them.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed and scratched her head.]

Well, no one in the Tower really does like the Administrators.

[seekinganswers]

It's not hard to see why.

[From the sound if it, these people are even worse than the Mayor of Alhafra was...]

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed again.]

No, no it's not. That's why we're all fighting against them and trying to figure out a way to go home.

[seekinganswers]

...how long have you been fighting for?

[tohko_amano]

About three months..

[seekinganswers]

...how much progress have you made?

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed at that question.]

We know a lot more about the Administrators, but not much about how to get out of here. We still have a long way to go.

[seekinganswers]

[She pursed her lips, frowning a little.]

I see... these Administrators must be very secretive.

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed and nodded.]

Sadly, they are.

[seekinganswers]

...

What's the easiest way to meet one?

[tohko_amano]

Well, I imagine that if you cause trouble by killing the drones or trashing their rooms, you'll get them to come after you..but they'll probably just punish you and not give you any information.