003. ☾ Seasons

[proteusmoon]

Characters: [AU1] Cecil Harvey (proteusmoon) ; open like a 7-11!
Setting: Various!
Format: Prose to start with, but if you prefer brackets, that's perfectly fine.
Summary: Catch-all events post for Cecil! This includes the Like A Lion mod event and the Deadman Wonderland player plot. Backdated for the appropriate seasonal times, of course.
Warnings: Cecil has been infected by the Nameless Worm, part of Wretched Egg's doing, making her a Deadman now. This means she can control her blood outside of her body. If that squicks you, I suggest summer or autumn since she won't be using her Branch of Sin in either scenarios. Speaking of, her Branch of Sin is full-body armor, which takes the shape of her Dark Knight armor from her canon. (Pretend it's less obviously masculine and red, heh.)

Spring: Floor 43
The jail was dark and dank, and Cecil couldn't genuinely tell if the lack of light was due to the bizarre rain that poured down throughout the Tower, or if this floor had always been like this. She had never been to this level before, but she'd received a notice the other day that she'd been chosen to work as a jailer on it and while she loathed doing anything for the administrators, if the choice was between obeying and disobeying, and thus possibly causing the suffering of her fellow "refugees", then she would obey.

And so obey she had. In the darkness though, she could barely see anything in front of her as she walked from one cellblock to the next, armed with her sword and shield. She was afraid, but she was more afraid of what the consequences would be if she refused to fulfill her duties, so she soldiered on, shaking her worries from her mind and continuing onward. From what she had seen so far of this prison floor, however, there were no prisoners...

An evil little sound caught her attention to her left and Cecil froze in step. She listened carefully and let her instincts take over. She heard the creature in the black turn hostile before it ever got close and she raised her shield to deflect its attack. The monster screeched in pain as she bashed it away, but while she was so focused on the one in front of her, she did not realize that this was an ambush until she felt a flurry of whips lash at her back. Cecil screamed, both in surprise and pain, and the attack dropped her to a knee where she remained with her eyes squeezed shut tightly.

Before she opened them, she felt the familiar thrum of rainfall on armor and knew it was impossible immediately. She had no armor and upon opening her eyes, she only felt more confused, for she felt warmth and her vision was limited, as though obstructed by a helm. She had no time to ponder further though, for the monsters attacking weren't finished and Cecil reflexively lunged, swinging her sword in a a wide arc. She felt the satisfying sensation of resistance giving way beneath as her blade cut through monster flesh and she heard the death cries of the creatures she'd taken down. Convinced it was over, she thought to remove her helm and instead found it instantly retracted.

Even in the dark, Cecil could see the blood this close to her face. She would recognize the form it took now as it shimmered in the dim lighting over her body like a second skin anywhere, at any time, regardless of how many years had passed, regardless of how many oaths to protect she had taken.

And she was devastated to realize the Dark Knight had never truly left her.

Summer: Dormitories
Cecil hated summer. Well, no, that wasn't entirely true; she actually did not particularly mind the warmer seasons, but the Tower's version of summer to her consisted of temperatures and dangerous repercussions that were only fitting for a desert— a rather life-threatening one back home on the Blue Planet that often claimed victims for itself. The experience of having crossed that desert a few times paled in comparison to this in some ways, but in others had been more difficult. Cecil had opted not to try wearing her gambeson and breeches in this heat, choosing instead the modest dress that had been in her trunk since it was very lightweight and comparatively cooler on her than the thick, padded gambeson. She wore no boots either and stayed wandering the dormitories, using her white magic where she could to heal those suffering from heat illnesses. She would run out of her mana eventually and require rest to recover, but while the high temperature only strained her instead of completely rendering her incapable of doing anything, she could not just stand by idly and do nothing at all.

Autumn: Floor 38
Autumn was perhaps the paladin's favorite time of year and so far, this had remained true inside Tower Animus. Nothing had seemed particularly lethal just yet, but the copious amounts of leaves falling throughout the floors was... extremely inconvenient. She could push one pile of the leaves aside and clear a path only to turn around and find another was well on its way to dwarfing the first. It wasn't long before they'd crowded her out of her dormitory and Cecil had had no choice but to relocate.

The lounge was one of the floors she hadn't visited before, but once she stepped out onto it, she decided rather quickly that it was one of the few she did not mind. The furniture combined with the huge mounds of leaves reminded her a lot of childhood days long lost when she and her friends would play amongst the various piles raked together. She smiled to herself, remembering, though her heart grew heavy from missing those times and her loved ones. Still, perhaps in memory of them — and because she seemed alone on the floor so far — the white knight approached one of the small hills and fell backwards into it, staring up out the glass walls at the sky outside the Tower.

Winter: Floor 86
The fae had managed to maintain the warmth of summer in their meadow longer than most of the other unique climate floors. Cecil had discovered this by accident, but she quickly learned that even the fairies in their wisdom and knowledge of magic and nature were not invincible to the malice of the Tower. They, too, seemed victims as much as the imprisoned and it almost made Cecil sad to see the lovely flowers and long, lush green grass freeze over. The blizzard as it descended blew many of the leaves leftover from autumn far from her, but she'd been able to keep just enough to pack a sort of makeshift blanket of them over her where she had dug a hole within the snow to spare her from the chilling wind.

The leaves had all lost their bright, beautiful reds and fading greens because of the cold, and nothing was left but dry yellows and pale browns. Cecil huddled amongst their corpses desperately, knowing she could not survive the trip back to the dormitories and accepting that sooner or later, she would probably die here. The new ability she had garnered somehow to cover her body in armor could probably save her for a while longer, since it encased her in a manner very much like her actual armor had, but Cecil could not bring herself to wear it, not even if it meant saving her. Since she'd discovered it during the rains, she'd felt a special sort of damned, for who else could convince themselves that they had changed when all along the black little secret remained dormant deep within them?

No, she would not. She would live as a paladin or die as nothing. She supposed it was the most she could hope for that she had been able to survive for so long, especially after the horrors of last month. It's not permanent... It is transient... she told herself, but somehow it was not as comforting a thought as she had prayed it would be.

Comments

Floor 43

[sunflowerfairy]

While Yotsuba had promised Edgeworth to be careful, she hadn't promised him that she wouldn't explore a little bit. Besides, the rain was nice, even though she had died and even though her photograph of Daddy was destroyed.

However, she stopped on the stairs when she saw a lady pulling in her blood. It was just like when Yotsuba made those spikes! The ones that the bad people had killed her about..

"Who are you? Friend or foe?" If she was a friend, Yotsuba would happily ask about the blood. If not, she would run. She didn't want to die again.

[proteusmoon]

The sound of another's voice startled Cecil and she turned her head sharply, her tears immediately stilling in her eyes. Her blurred vision cleared and the knight turned towards the sound. It sounded like a child and Cecil was inwardly mortified at this thought.

"I... My name is Cecil. I mean you no harm, I assure you," she replied to the child's voice, but she held her sword tightly in hand, in case this was a trick of the Tower. "Who are you?"

[sunflowerfairy]

When the woman said that she was a friend, Yotsuba instantly cheered up and smiled. She really was naive sometimes.

"I'm Yotsuba! It's nice to meet you, Cecil! You have a Br..Branch of..Sin too!"

[proteusmoon]

"A what?" Cecil blinked, puzzled, but she sheathed the Mythgraven Blade. The girl actually reminded her of a friend of hers, with that green hair of hers. Without doing more than thinking it, the rest of her blood armor begins to disappear over her body as well, vanishing into the wounds on her back. They still hurt a great deal, but Cecil had endured worse before. She crouches to be at eye level with the girl.

"I'm glad to meet you as well, Yotsuba, but what is a Branch of Sin?"

Floor 86

[idkworldruler]

You know he has just about had enough of winter for the year. But of course his dislike for the cold season was not going to change it...or at least not here, yet anyway. There was still a great deal of things that he had to take care of before he attempted such a takeover.

First and foremost was finding a way off of this floor. It wasn't that he was too cold, the amount of layers from his uniform helped to protect his body from the biting wind. Plus his boots helped to keep his feet relatively dry and warm. Plus if the bot of protection his current outfit provided him didn't work, then Mitch was certain that he could find other ways to keep warm. It was mostly just the idea that the remnants of winter were still lingering around, causing him no small amount of annoyance. As he exhaled a warm breath, watching as the filtered cloud drifted up, into the air, he spied Cecil. Deciding to walk closer to her as soon as he saw her.

If there really was a blizzard starting, then he would much rather be stuck with another person tan just himself. "You look rather cold."

[proteusmoon]

From inside her snow pit, the white knight looked back through her blanket of leaves, unamused by his observation. "That's stating the obvious," she called back and shivered involuntarily in the cold wind. Snow was beginning to fall more now, faster. Cecil pulled her gambeson around her more tightly, hoping to trap the body heat from her torso against her.

[idkworldruler]

"Naturally." He stated, observing her situation. "Why don't you just make a fire?" Something that he considered to be a very base survival instinct in just about all humans. Unless of course she didn't know how, in which case she would be excused. "Those leaves are not going to protect you much, why not put them to better use."

[proteusmoon]

Cecil was a knight. She'd survived conditions like this before and she could only presume that he had not.

"The blizzard will not let any fire survive. The wind will extinguish it before it gets to truly live." Base survival instinct or not, there was no point in expending precious body heat and energy on a tactic that would not help.

Floor 38

[warriorscribe]

After spending most of the summer days in his room, Enoch had a bit of restlessness driving him to wander the tower, killing monsters that get in the way and generally enjoying the pretty autumn leaves.

He takes a moment to rest in the next lounge he comes across, brushing some leaves off a couch and onto a nearby pile...only to realize moments too late there's someone on the other side of that pile who probably has a few more leaves in her hair.

"Ah...I'm sorry. I didn't see you at first."

[proteusmoon]

Cecil makes a small, sharp sound of surprise at the leaves falling onto her, but she only laughs softly as she sits up. She brushes a few of the leaves from her snowy white hair, but because she cannot see all of them, she comically misses a few.

"It's fine," she replies, smiling in amusement. "No harm done, I promise. There are far worse ways to meet a new face inside this tower, as I'm sure you're aware."

[warriorscribe]

"All too aware." The leaves aren't so bad on the couch, anyway. He sits down on it, leaning to the one side unimpeded by armor. Despite the sentiment, her relaxed approach helps him relax, too. "Are you enjoying the atmosphere here?"

[proteusmoon]

"After the last previous 'seasons', yes!" Cecil nods exuberantly. Summer was especially hard on her and her friends. "Moments of serenity are rare, so I thought I would take the opportunity to reminisce and daydream a little. I suppose I will never truly stop missing my home."

Summer: Dormitories

[rhapsoidein]

Unfortunately for Genesis, she didn't have any extra summer clothes. The best she could do was trade her leather pants for her jeans and the knitted shirt with her t-shirt. It helped for a time but as the temperatures continues to rise, the water that she had collected was soon running out just trying to keep herself hydrated. Of course, then she had to rely on her materia but all she had was ice, so sucking on the chunks of ice she made was all she could do.

But it was draining her magic faster than she was used to and she eventually had to stop. It also didn't help that, once she made the ice, several others practically broke it apart to get a piece for themselves. Genesis wanted to spend her time fighting the monsters, but the simple act of even fighting the weakest monster left her feeling dizzy and nauseous. Before she knew it, Rapier had fallen from her hand and the ground was rising up to meet her.

[proteusmoon]

Cecil turned a corner just in time to see the redhead stumble and with a gasp, she rushed forward to catch her.

"I've got you," she assured the other woman and took her arm over her shoulders, supporting her weight while she carried her to the nearest network terminal so she could seat her in the alcove the computers were always set in. Before they even arrived there though, she realized who the other woman was. "Ah, it is nice to finally meet you in person, Genesis, but I do wish the circumstances were different."

[rhapsoidein]

Genesis groaned, clutching Cecil as her knees wobbled. "Mm. So do I. But I suppose I should be... happy that it was you to catch me."

It could have been Sephiroth. Though he wouldn't have caught her, just probably let her fall and laugh at her or something. Still, once she was seated in the alcove, she pushed her hair of her face. "I think I preferred the rain..."

[proteusmoon]

"As do I," the paladin replied with a nod. "I didn't think I could say goodbye to the rains soon enough, but now that this heatwave is here, I regret not being more grateful for it."

Of course, it was hard to be grateful when everything was wet and cold, and everywhere was flooded. Cecil sighed and took a moment to pray, clasping her hands before her while she concentrated. A violet esuna spell glowed and fluttered between her palms soon, and the white knight poured it over Genesis to heal her fatigue and what was probably a steadily increasing in severity heat illness.

"I cannot do much to cool you off, but that should at least stop you from fainting for a while."

autumn

[marriedthebloke]

After the rains of spring and the heat of summer, Sola-ui was glad for autumn and its mild weather. At least, it was easier for her to travel through the Tower looking for Diarmuid. She hadn't seen him since the night she arrived, and she was worried for him.

She enters into the lounge. She doesn't see Diarmuid, but she does see a knight lying in the leaves. Come to think of it, where did the leaves come from if there were no trees? Were they all fake?

"...Excuse me, may I have a moment of your time?"

She calls to Cecil.

[proteusmoon]

The leaves certainly didn't seem fake to Cecil when she lifted one to examine its colors. The bright red blending into orange and yellow across the expanse of the skin is beautiful, but the leaf is dry to the touch, not waxy or soft, and several others crumble in her fingers when she runs her thumb over its veins.

The other woman approaches her so quietly that Cecil doesn't hear her until it's much too late for her to make herself appear respectable before she's spotted. The paladin bolts upwards immediately and hastily brushes the leaves from her hair and clothes.

"Ah! Yes? Of course." Cecil can't hide that she's embarrassed to be caught lying in a heap of leaves like a child, but she tries anyway. She's always been rather terrible at deception, even fairly innocent deception such as this sort. "What is it I can do for you, miss?"

[marriedthebloke]

"Just one thing."

She shows no reaction to the knight's attempt to retain her dignity.

"Have you seen a certain person around? He is very tall and he has dark hair that has been combed back, golden eyes, and a mole under his eye."

Dormitories

[wegotlucky]

It was hot, extremely hot. But Neal wasn't really the sort to try and show the fact that he wasn't having a good time. His expression was serious and his shirt was pretty well soaked, but he was still trying to stay in a good mood. The dorms weren't places that he spent most of his time-- but then again he didn't spend his time anywhere in particular most of the time to begin with. It was too hot for him to do much, but the barefoot woman caught his attention. "This place could do with some AC," he said, hoping that he would crack a smile.

[proteusmoon]

Cecil at first wasn't certain the man was speaking to her, but when she glanced around them and found no one else nearby, she turned properly to face him and inclined her head curiously to one side.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what 'AC' is," she answered. Even so, she did smile for him. "Am I right though in presuming it is something that could help us with this heat?"

[wegotlucky]

"Oh," he said, a little embarrassed. Figures someone dressed like her wouldn't know what AC is. Luckily, it wasn't so long ago that he was completely clueless himself. "It's a big propeller," he said. "Like one of those hand fans, only it moves by itself. It really helps cool off the air during the summer." Sure, it wasn't an entirely accurate summary, but it was close enough.

"The past few days have been something else. First it's a downpour and now this." He shifted a bit, tugging at his hoodie as he did. "Here's to hoping the weather calms down sooner rather than later."

Winter: Floor 86 (Have a placeholder tag until after Diarmuid's Player Plot is over!)

[oathshackledbird]

Oftentimes, Diarmuid is glad that he isn't human in this tower. More than once his superhuman abilities have saved people from what would have otherwise been certain death. Still, even with his powers, these extreme weather swings are starting to cause him problems. He can't freeze, but he can be uncomfortable. And the snow is really slowing down his ability to move around the tower.

Right now he's searching the tower trying to find those he knows. He's not really sure how to help them in this extreme cold, but he has to be doing something. Unfortunately, so far he hasn't found anyone. He can only hope that means they are somewhere safe and somehow staying warm.

Somehow.

Diarmuid only briefly stops at the entry to floor 86. This floor he's avoided since he discovered it. As one who grew up in ancient Ireland he knows well the dangers of messing with the Fae.

It's best not to tempt fate at all.

But as he passes the door, he notices a small cave someone has dug into the snow. Most likely, a last attempt to try desperately to stay warm since as odd as it sounds, the snow itself can sometimes act as an insulator. Carefully, Diarmuid makes his way to the cave and peeks in.

For a moment, he thinks it's empty, but as his eyes adjust to the gloom, he starts to pick out a familiar shape.

"Cecil!"

Quickly, he crawls into the cave beside her. She's so cold and so pale. So much like the snow all around them. Is he too late?

[proteusmoon]

Having sunk into a stupor of sorts that is steadily causing her to slip away into unconsciousness, Cecil only vaguely hears her name being called. She doesn't recognize the voice as Diarmuid's, but it does cause her to stir slightly amongst the dead leaves and she tries to answer. Her voice dies in her throat through, reduced to no more than an incoherent murmur on the wind. The paladin struggles to move, but her limbs feel heavy and she can't feel her extremities. She doesn't give up, however, one would not know it from how still she is.

[oathshackledbird]

The little bits of movement are more than enough to show life in his eyes, but she is so cold. Diarmuid knows she won't last much longer like this and not for the first time he curses his inability to use magic. If he could use even a little, maybe he could build a fire to warm her. As it is, he is extremely limited in his options.

The first thing he does is strip off the top of his armor. Fortunately, while he might get somewhat uncomfortable, he can't freeze and so doesn't actually need it. And the armor is heavier than it seems. Her shelter is keeping out a lot of the wind, but the ground is still pulling away a lot of her heat. Anything that will help prevent that is good.

He pauses a moment, coming to the next step. Body heat is one of the best ways to keep warm in the cold, but he's not going to really be able to help her much if her clothes are between them.

Diarmuid only hopes she will forgive him later.