towerofanimus | 005 ♃ If we've met before but you were possessed at the time, is this really our first meeting?

Characters: Sheba and Allen; Sheba and characters that ... aren't Allen, if you wish!
Setting: Floor 03, the library. Sheba and Allen will be exploring other parts of the Tower as well, but that part isn't open, sooooo...
Format: I'll follow you, but I'm starting with brackets.
Summary: Backdated! The day after this exchange, Sheba goes to the third floor library to meet Allen, as agreed. But she's there early, so perhaps it won't be just Allen she runs into that day?
Warnings: Nothing except the potential for some rather slow replies on my end over the next few days, but they should come with more regularity on Thursday or Friday!

[FLOOR 03, MORNING]
[She was at least a few hours early, but she supposed there were worse things to do with her time than spend it reading. Anyone who happens to be on the third floor on the morning of the 27th will most likely see Sheba darting among the bookshelves, pausing to scan over the titles for a few moments before she moves on to another set of books.

It was all well and good to say, "I'm going to read," but when it came down to it deciding what to read was a lot easier said than done. There didn't seem to be any books on the subjects she was most interested in, which was a shame.]

There has to be something useful...

[FLOOR 03, NOON-ISH]
[Finally, noontime rolls around. By now Sheba has found somewhere to sit and is curled up in her chair, completely absorbed in her book. It's probably a good thing that Allen knows what she looks like, because even though she'd started with every intention of keeping an eye on the entryway, that just wasn't how things were working out.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It was pure elemental energy.

[As they walk, she keeps an eye out - and also scans the surrounding area for any stray thoughts. No way is anyone sneaking up on them. If there's a mind for her to read, she'll know about it before they even gets close.

So she sounds a little distracted when she talks, but all things considered, it's not that strange.]

There are creatures called Djinn where I'm from... they're made of elemental energy. A lot of them joined my friends and I while we were traveling. Adepts - people like myself - use elemental energy every day, so it's really beneficial for a Djinni to join with an Adept. [A faint, glowing ball of light emerges from Sheba's chest, then circles around her a few times before landing on her shoulder and solidifying into the form of a Jupiter Djinni.] They sort of become a part of us once they join us. Their power makes our magic stronger, and we can use their elemental energy to unleash really powerful summons like you saw before.

That's more than a little handy. No doubt.

[His power shortens his life span. Go figure.]

[Djinn? As in, genies? Maybe not. Must be a coincidence because otherwise, he'd want his three wishes. And none of them involve staying in the tower.]

So there's more than one? How many do you have?

It really is. It's helped to keep me alive more times than I can count.

[At his next question, she nods.]

That's right. There are a whole lot of them, and I've got nine. They're all Jupiter Djinn, meaning their powers are wind-based, like mine. The people I traveled with before coming here had some, too.

[Her expression falters at that - it's not like she'll be seeing them ever again, she thinks... the Djinn within her are really her only connection to home. That's actually a really depressing thought. But after a moment, she manages a smile.]

What about you? Anything like that where you're from?

Nope. Can't say there are any. Now that I think of it....[Allen scratches his face with his finger a little.] Now that I think about it, you know all there needs to know about me. Really!

[His left arm crinkles as he stretches it.]

Nothing really special about me. Other than what I do and what I am, my past is no different than any normal person's.

Really?

[She doesn't look like she believes him. Past experience has taught her that there's usually much more than meets the eye to most people.]

But what about your present? Your past may be typical enough, but what we're all going through now isn't. It takes a special type of person to be able to stand up to all this, I think.

[In other words, Allen - you're special!]

Anyway... [He doesn't seem too inclined to tell her more, though, so she allows a thoughtful expression to come over her face.] It's good that we were able to confirm what was on that floor. It might be useful. But we should try and keep an eye out for other alternatives, too. Just in case.

Is there anything you want to check out while we're here? Or was that run-in with the monsters enough excitement for the day?

Not that I know of. Now that I think about it, we might need to check in to see if those arrows weren't poisoned or something! *smile*

[He neglects to answer a certain statement...]

I'm not one who enjoys picking fights--not that I'm condescending to people who do--so what kind of book were you so into at the library, anyway? I couldn't even read the cover.

..poisoned..?!

[Where were Piers and his "Cure Poison" Psynergy when she needed them...]

Right... let's get down to the infirmary. Poisoning is not something I want to deal with.

[Then she blinks a few times. It takes her a moment, and then she remembers-]

Oh! It was a book about architecture. I'm not completely familiar with how it works... I've been through a few towers already... [And she's even fallen off one of them!] ...but most of them seem to have been built or supported with Psynergy in some way. That sort of power doesn't seem as prevalent in this place, though. I thought maybe if I understood how people usually build things, I might be able to find something useful for getting around this tower. [Or getting out of it. Yeah, the place was huge, but she really doesn't like feeling trapped here.]

[Allen keeps his smile up--the poison thing was kind of a joke, but that wound wasn't going to fix itself...]

Oh really? I've wondered that myself for a while. Such as, "how does this thing work" or "is this place even a tower?". But I've seen places function for no reason before. Incidentally, I don't really care. I'm no scientist or architect myself so if anyone knows how to work this place, I'll just ask them.

I've tried, at least.

Most places on my world that function for "no reason" are really powered by some form of Psynergy... so in the end there usually is some kind of a reason, just not one that's easily understood.

I couldn't make heads or tails of that book, though. I guess a job as an architect isn't in my future!

[Allen doesn't answer. He only quietly contemplates her words as she speaks and long after she has finished.]

[But he opens up suddenly with...]

*Smile* Yep. Probably boring anyway, though.

...!

[She blinks, then manages a laugh.]

Yeah, you're right! I don't really see what's so fun about doing that kind of thing all the time anyway...

[Timcanpy flutters around them both, having hidden from sight during the battle.]

Heya, Tim. Where'd you shuffle off to?

[From inside Tim's mouth comes a pair of golden ear rings. Allen smiles almost childishly when he sees them.]

Glad you're on top of things as always. Can't believe I dropped these! [As he is putting them on...] For a second there, I thought you lost your backbone and flew away!

[As it hovers just in front of his face.] I really need to know better, don't I?

[She blinks the first time that Timcanpy flutters into her field of vision, and then watches as Allen gets the earrings back from him.]

He can get your things back for you? That's really useful!

Tim's good for a lot of things. [Its job done, it takes its place on its master's head.] Now if only he could eat me and take me home, that'd be doing us a favor, huh? *laugh*

If only he could do that for all of us!

[Sheba smiles, but her eyes are a little sad. Home... what she wouldn't give to see Lalivero again. How long has it been? Being dragged through it as a captive hardly counted - it had been years since she'd freely walked through the streets of her hometown...]

I guess that's a little much to hope for, though.

005 ♃ If we've met before but you were possessed at the time, is this really our first meeting?

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msn isn't working on the computer I'm onnnn OTL

PM to soon follow

Okay~ I'll keep an eye out for it!

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