[.oo9] A Curious Future

[lethechained]

Characters: Naminé (OU) and victims anyone.
Setting: All over the tower.
Format: Responder's choice.
Summary: Ten years in the Tower has changed a few things about Naminé - like her Stealth stat. Characters may find themselves with unexpected company.
Warning: Stalking, possible violence or discussion of past violence/abuse/kidnapping, magical ninjas.


[All over the Tower]

[There's someone behind you.]

[No, not really - she's probably not actually directly behind anyone. But there is someone lurking around, staying just out of sight and following characters on nearly silent footsteps. She's difficult to detect and quite persistent, but should one manage to catch sight of their unexpected companion, they'll see someone dressed all in white, a hood over their head. They're small-framed and it's hard to tell their age, but whoever they are, they're there and likely have been for a while.]

[Naminé's looking for information. Except asking directly doesn't seem to be her first choice of action at the moment; not when everything's all wrong and the tower is obviously up to something. So, she's taken to trailing after people, especially the ones who look familiar. Characters in just about any part of the tower may find themselves being followed.]

[Floor Forty-Eight]

[At first glance, it might look like there's a ghost in the graveyard. This is not actually the case; the 'ghost' in question is just someone hooded and dressed in white, moving among the graves as if searching for names.]

[Floor Twenty]

[That person in white who has been lurking around the tower appears to be taking a rest, seated near the edge of this floor. She's looking outward, but trying to sneak up on her may not be the best idea.]

[Floor Eleven]

[While not that long ago in reality, for her, it's been forever since that day that she spent practicing on this floor. ... She casts a brief spell in passing that leaves the nearest waterfall frozen in time for nostalgia's sake, taking only a moment to glance up at her handiwork before continuing on her way. The waterfall eventually returns to normal, but it takes a while.]

Comments

Floor 48; Graveyard

[knightime]

[She isn't the only one on this floor, today. But Dave has been frequenting this floor since he was thirteen, so it's not uncommon to see this certain Strider on this floor. He visits the same graves, leaving flowers from the meadow on them. Old friends he can remember clearly, despite the amount of time that has seemingly passed for him.

He may have taken noticed to her (she's wearing white in a not so white place), but hasn't done anything about it. He's oddly quiet, honestly.]

Re: Floor 48; Graveyard

[lethechained]

[Just as he may know of her, she knows of him. Despite her attention to her task, she still has some focus to spare to keep an eye (metaphorically or otherwise) out for other visitors to the floor. She's quiet, herself, not only in voice but in her footsteps as well. She watches him for a while, subtly, until she seems to have finished her own search.]

[And then she waits. She knows who he is, and she knows that he is not the right age, either, like the others in the tower. There's concern twisting in her chest, but she stays where she has placed herself, firmly outside his field of vision but present nevertheless and not actually making any further attempt beyond that to stay out of sight or to move into it. Whether it's out or respect for his situation or from some complication of her own is unclear, but she doesn't seem to have any intention of disturbing him just yet nor any intention of leaving, either.]

[rememberstime]

[Dave places the flowers on the graves, dusting them off a bit of whatever dirt or debris that might have been on them. He was glad this floor existed. He's been a little on edge since the day seemed to have started. Something felt weird and amiss. The fact that it related to time made him wary that something was up. There was no way to check the date, and that just made him all the more suspicious. Having this floor was a nice moment to relax though and not worry too much about it yet.

He stood upright, shoving his hands in his pockets. After a moment, he turned to face her general direction. He doesn't beckon her over. He just stands there, obviously staring her way even with the shades on. Dave was just waiting.]

[lethechained]

[Funny, in an awful sort of way, to be grateful for the chance to spend time in a graveyard, but she'd be more able to understand the sentiment than she'd like, were he to express it. This place serves a variety of functions, valuable but sad.]

[If she tenses when he stands or turns toward her, it's imperceptible. She makes no move to escape his sight, hood turned his direction as well as her own, even less visible stare studies him, marking out all the differences from the way he should look, at least from her vantage point.]

[She doesn't know whether or not he recognizes her. She's not certain how much it matters, at this point. Her patience is nothing to sneeze at, but it seems one of them must make a move, and so she decides that it may as well be her. Leveling the playing field, so to speak.]

[When she reaches up toward her hood, it's slow and unhurried and without hesitation; the time for that is past. Hood lowered, Naminé looks back at him with those same big blue eyes. They're harder to read than before - not that she was ever as much an open book as many of those from her world - and the face they belong to is older now, still soft but very clearly the shape of an adult's. Her hair, when set free and moved efficiently back into place over her shoulder, is longer, the delicate curl to it that had always been in it more pronounced now, but she isn't much taller than she was before.]

[She does not smile at first, but the corners of her mouth do eventually raise into one. It's a wan thing even when fully formed.]

Hello, Dave.

[rememberstime]

[She was older, yes, but too young to him. He had expected someone older, given the fact that he's so much older. He let's that thought settle in the back of his mind. Time discrepancies have always become sort of a problem, especially when it came to the Tower. It was an annoyance, but one he could mule over on his own time.

Right now he was seeing an old friend and he rather keep his attention on her, versus trying to figure out why everything felt so off. It isn't the first time the Tower has done things like this, so it wasn't like he was surprised.

His mouth quirks as he breaks into a small smile though. It was always nice to see those familiar blue eyes. Just to see her in general was nice. Remnants of deeper feelings he used to have a long, long time ago.

he holds his hand up in a wave. That was odd. Wasn't Dave more of a chatterbox? Would he really give up a chance to greet her verbally?]

[lethechained]

[The smile seems to offer some encouragement to her own, subtle though it might be. He's not the only one glad to see a familiar face - even if his is older than she was expecting.]

[She doesn't seem to be shy about staring - which may make it all the more obvious when she takes note of his lack of verbal response and thus senses something amiss. -- Well, more amiss than everything already was. Her head tilts slightly, the addition to her smile's strength ebbing away. Still, she does not ask directly. Rather,]

... You wouldn't happen to know what's going on, would you?

[It's as gentle as ever, though she's not expecting a positive answer.]

[rememberstime]

[Dave considers her question for a moment. He's not surprised that other people have noticed weird things. It's easy when everyone were different ages from what they think that person should be from their point of view. He wonders idly if she had felt the slight shift or pause, but doubts it's worth bringing up.

On the downside, the fact that neither of them know was slightly irritating.

He shakes his head, affirming that he didn't know what was happening. He shrugged after though. It was Dave's way of showing that he didn't know, but it wasn't a big deal to him. He isn't so sure she'll pick up on that. Body language wasn't always the clearest indicator.]

all over the tower

[terreifying]

[Rei isn't too worried about someone being behind her. After all, she herself prefers to silently follow behind people. Now that she's older, looking 26 years old and more like her mother than ever, she's also had more experience with being followed.]

Soooo, did you find any of my new projects interesting?

[She asks her companion without even turning to look at them.]

[lethechained]

[Although Naminé already had a sinking feeling she'd been spotted, there was a slightly tension in her when she was, she suspected, addressed. There doesn't seem to be anyone else around to talk to, after all, though Naminé does not respond right away, just in case. Finally, quietly, her tone level,]

They're not exactly what I'm looking for.

[terreifying]

What are you looking for?

[Rei responds, sounding loud and chipper in contrast to her follower's quiet voice.]

I can help you find it. Or build it, since I'm a scientist.

[lethechained]

[There's a brief pause. Somehow, Naminé doubts that - but she doesn't say so. There is only,]

Answers.

[Not a thing to be built, but found, maybe - that would be good.]

Have you noticed, yet? That the others around you aren't the same.

[terreifying]

[She stops in the steps.]

Yes. There are those who seem...changed. Younger than they should be.

[And some people who should have already died were here.]

[lethechained]

Or older.

[But it's an agreeing sort of comment; it's just an addendum rather than an argument.]

It's very curious.

Floor 48

[idolwarrior]

[ Like her usual, Sayaka is off to do her thing, patrolling every floor that is not an immediate danger to her. The least thing she wants is to deal with whatever crap this tower has got when she knows that people who are smart enough won't venture in such places.

And she does know that ghost, well enough to smile when she crosses her path with Naminé. Her hand leaves the handle of her sword. That girl is no threat, though she does tend to creep people out with her stalkerish tendencies. Their complaints could still be heard in her head, and that makes her chuckle. ]

Are you having fun?

[lethechained]

[Naminé makes no real effort to hide when Sayaka enters the floor; it's good to see a familiar face, at least, even with everything that's been going on. Still, the blonde doesn't approach right away, keeping her physical and verbal distance until she's addressed, at which point she pauses, then turns to face the other woman properly.]

Hello, Sayaka.

[That might be a nod, there.]

... Close enough.

['Fun' isn't exactly the objective, here, but making progress is close enough for her.]

[idolwarrior]

Good. It's kind of boring around here, so finding something fun to do is a progress for sure.

[ She stretches her arms out. Man, this place is still sad. It's tiring when you keep telling newbies that nobody is actually buried here. ]

[lethechained]

Mm

[But she sounds thoughtful. This is indeed a sad place, and not one she's fond of visiting, but... after a moment,]

The names are wrong.

[idolwarrior]

Wrong?

[ She arches an eyebrow. ] Whatever do you mean?

[lethechained]

They're not the right ones.

[She raises a hand slightly and lets it fall in a loose approximation of a gesture in the direction of said stones.]

There are names here that shouldn't be and some of the ones that should be here are missing.

[thebigsister]

[Eleanor feels the tingle in the back of her head, waiting for a moment before she finally stops on the staircase between floors, shifting to stand more or less full height.]

...is there something you need or do you just want to play hide and seek?

[Because she's cool with hide and seek, but really.]

[lethechained]

[Naminé suspects she's been found out even before she is addressed, and thus keeps her distance on the stairs. Seeing Eleanor was especially jarring; Naminé couldn't help but follow her, too, concerned both with information and the other's well-being. She hesitates a moment, then another moment, and then,]

... Eleanor?

[Not much of an answer, there, Naminé.]

[thebigsister]

...yes?

[Eleanor doesn't quite recognize the voice, though it's familiar. Very familiar.]

[lethechained]

....

['Is it really you?' seems a foolish question to ask. Instead, Naminé edges into a slightly more visible position, even though her hood is still up.]

... Do you remember me?

[thebigsister]

[Eleanor's head tilts further. What the--]

...Naminé?

[lethechained]

... Yes, it's me.

[For proof, she lowers that hood of hers. It is indeed Naminé, only... about ten years older.]