[.o1o] A Long Day

[lethechained]

Characters: Naminé [OU] and OPEN.
Format: Either.
Summary: Today seems to be a day of discoveries.
Warnings: Memories/consideration of past abuse/kidnapping etc.


[Floor 100]

[It's bittersweet, seeing Destiny Islands 'in person' for the first time. It isn't a memory, this time, but it's not real, either. Standing in what passes for sand on the small island with the bent tree looking out over the water, she cannot help but frown. She'd wanted to see this place for such a long time, but... not like this.]


[Floor 80]

[Blinking in the bright lights, Naminé is at first quite disoriented by this floor. It's very bright and colorful and perhaps in any other place she'd be thrilled by that, except this is the Tower, after all, and thus she is immediately on her guard. But that diminishes slowly over time as she lingers, having a long look around with more than a little interest. It's only her caution that keeps her from straying too close to anyone, including the clowns, but one can't always keep an eye on everyone, now can they?]


[Floor 78]

[The newly opened package hits the ground, the contents bouncing out and landing with a clatter. Naminé looks down at it for only a moment before reflexively stooping to put the tiny bird cage back in its place, her fingers leaving it as quickly as possible and then pushing the package back against the doors of the boxes nearest the floor, a hand moving to press over her mouth. She'd been startled enough to have received a package so suddenly in the first place. She'd just had to open it, hadn't she? Perhaps holding it so delicately, caution still present, had been what made her lose her grip of it in her surprise at the contents. Either way, now she frowns down at it, hesitating as though she's uncertain what to do with this development - because she is.]


[Floor 51]

[There's a blonde young lady leaning over one of the sewing machines, peering at it curiously. She inspects it thoroughly, at first only by sight but slowly moving on to messing with the buttons and, after a while, the pedal - which seems to startle her at first, but she soldiers through it. It's obvious that she hasn't the faintest idea how to use such a thing, but she seems to have taken an interest in it nevertheless.]

Comments

floor 78

[terreifying]

[Rei is currently signing up for a mailbox when she sees the smaller girl dropping her package.]

...Did you break your gift? Do you want me to go get some tape for it?

[lethechained]

[She looks up sharply, hand falling from her mouth, and for a second it looks almost like she doesn't even recognize Rei, but she seems to after a moment and relaxes slightly, though there's still a tension in her.]

No, I-- it's fine.

[Even if she's not sure whether she wants it to be. Late, once she remembers herself,]

But thank you.

[terreifying]

[She frowns a little when she sees how the other girl is acting.]

Are you fine then?

[lethechained]

[She pauses, turning her eyes from the package up to toward Rei, then back again.]

... Yes. I was only startled. They... just sent me something I wasn't expecting. [Something very rude, at least in the context.]

[terreifying]

Oh. Was it something bad then? Why would they be that mean?

Floor 51, placeholder...

[idolizer]

[ Sayaka held off from visiting this floor because of the creepy mannequins. But because she's more and more determined to make new fabrics for herself, she went ahead and started looking around.

... That's a familiar face she's seeing there. ]

Naminé?

I CAN DELETE THIS IF YOU WANT TO EDIT BUT <3

[lethechained]

[The girl starts, straightening in the seat she'd taken in front of one of the sewing machine. Turning sharply, she at first looks slightly guilty, but that soon transitions into surprise.]

Oh, Sayaka...! Hello. What are you doing here? [She could ask the same of you, Naminé.]

Floor 100

[keybearer]

[To see his own home in one piece... it's like a dagger to the chest. When Riku wanders onto the floor, he freezes, eyes fixed on the fake surroundings.

It's only a few seconds later that he notices Naminé and slowly approaches.]

...This has to be a sick joke.

[lethechained]

[She hears him behind her before he speaks, but not in enough time to turn before then; upon hearing his voice, she knows she needn't turn as sharply or with as much shame as she otherwise might have. Her eyes light on him, her frown still in place.]

That's the only kind of joke it could be. ... It isn't very funny.

[keybearer]

Then again, what is in this place?

[He shakes his head, his eyes drifting towards the top of the paopu tree. If he reached out and touched it, would it still be there at all? It's obviously an illusion, but just how authentic is it really?]

If this is supposed to cheer us up, they really need a reality check.

[lethechained]

Not much.

[Her eyes follow his, expression still grim. She's already given it a try, and so she does not wonder.]

With the way they've always treated us... they may have known exactly what they were doing.

[keybearer]

Right. It's probably just another game or experiment to them.

[He tears his eyes away from the tree, wandering over to the platform's edge. At least the waves sound real. That's... always nice.]

How long have you been here, Naminé?

floor eighty

[prayed]

[A carnival seems pretty out of place in this tower at first, until one considers all the horrors that a carnival can hide. Still, it might be alright as long as one keeps their distance. So, Kyoko walks up next to Namine without much hesitation. She gives the blond girl little more than a glance before returning her eyes back to the show in front of them.]

Can't say I've ever been to one of these things before. I'm not if I want to either, if it's gonna be held in this place.

[lethechained]

[Naminé doesn't hear her walking up with all the commotion, so she starts slightly when she sees the other girl out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she looks up at her despite not being looked back at, seeming to recover from her shock quickly.]

... Me neither. [To both counts.] It's beautiful, but... I can't enjoy it the way I'd like to.

[prayed]

Too worried about having your guts spilled onto the floor, right?

[She folds her arms, but smirks. She's nothing if not confident.]

Of course, I can just kill anything that gets too close, but I'd hate to have to waste time fighting off a circus act.

[lethechained]

[Her nod is slightly hesitant but she eyes Kyoko openly. So confident, hm?]

... Right. It's a reasonable thing to be afraid of here.

[Pause, then,]

You're sure?

[prayed]

What, you don't believe me?

[Not that she can actually blame this girl. It's not like they know each other or anything, but still, she can't just leave that one be.]

Floor 51

[keywrite]

[He was just passing through this floor, heading up, but Naminé's caught his interest. Or who he thinks is Naminé, but she looks like her, so he's approaching her to see.]

[lethechained]

[She's quite focused on her inspection of the sewing machine, at first, but once her foot stops its experimental press against the pedal and the machine stops making noise, she hears him, and thus looks up suddenly, visibly startled and guilty.]

[Except it's one very familiar face. Not one of the ones she's used to, however - she's quite adept by now at telling the difference. She pauses, looking up at him for a moment, then... she turns properly in her seat to face him, expression calming.]

... Hello.

[keywrite]

[Oops, he did not mean to startle her, and takes a step back when she looks up.]

Hello. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?

[lethechained]

[She shakes her head, a small smile working its way onto her lips. No need to make the poor boy more uncomfortable.]

No, nothing important. Don't worry. [She stops, watching him for a few seconds almost expectantly; going to introduce yourself, new!ku?]

Floor 100

[oforder]

[ Oddly enough, he was interested in this new floor. Rather than have Allen investigate it for him; he curious what he would see, himself, if he were to go there. The nature of the Tower masked the future from the Compass, and he could only observe the flows of consciousness of certain individuals, none of which were the Administrators. There was only one way to figure this out for himself.

But as he slowly faded into existence on the one hundredth floor, he was seeing what could have been an island on any given oceanic planet in the galaxy. It certainly wasn't any he could tell just by looking at it, but it was explained when he saw the girl in the white dress.

She looked depressed. As if she wasn't happy to see her 'home.' ]

An elaborate illusion meant to inspire homesickness.

[ His voice was entirely deadpan, something Naminé, with the company she's kept for quite a while, should be familiar with. She might be able to tell that Wilhelm isn't entirely human himself, either; but he wouldn't feel like a Nobody, a Heartless, or anything she'd be familiar with. He was something else entirely. Something... far more. ]

They have tested all of us physically, emotionally, and in my case, intellectually. Does such a trick as this truly surprise you?

[lethechained]

[Had he just walked onto the level, it might have taken her longer to notice him - though it still might not have been long. His is a very... peculiar existence, and that peculiarity might have alerted her if the usage of unusual powers had not that he was there. She goes tense, then slowly forces herself to relax. The tone does not help, even if she's not eager to jump to any conclusions. She turns quickly but with measure steadiness, blue eyes focusing on him. Her frown has not disappeared and doesn't show any sign of doing so any time soon. She studies him for a few moments before answering.]

... No. This is no real surprise. It makes all too much sense that they would do this. It's... cruel. [Which means it's right up their alley. But, one might also be able to say,] ... Or kind. Maybe it's both. [Still probably more the former if anything, though.]

[oforder]

And yet, their cruelty is calculated. They know things about us nobody else should know. They intentionally probe our innermost thoughts and desires and force us to confront them.

[ In his case, they overlooked a few details concerning the way his world works. Case in point, Allen as a Testament. But, it still got him thinking. It is just really, really hard under Wilhelm's skin. ]

It is naive to believe that they would do this as an act of kindness. They wish to gauge your reactions. To see if you would look upon this in longing, or in despair.

[lethechained]

[Her frown can really only grow from that point. Those sorts of things are a bit of a sore spot for her - not that they aren't for everyone. (She cannot say she isn't guilty of going places in people's minds that no one had any business going to, but at least she'd done it without cruel intent, and it was never out of any desire of her own.)]

Of course. I never thought otherwise. [Except some people might be able to take comfort in it, even for all the pain. She can't count herself one of those people, after all - no heart to take comfort with. But... despite her lack of recognition of that, for her, never has any comfort come without significant pain. Always bitterness with the sweet, no matter what.]