008 ♃ the sky is red tonight, we're on the edge tonight

[seekinganswers]

Characters: Sheba and you!
Setting: The cafeteria, the desert, and the lounge on the 81st floor.
Format: Brackets to start but I'll switch to prose if you want to!
Summary: Sheba's spent a little over a week on her destroyed homeworld, and she's still feeling out of sorts. She would be back just in time for a Jason month, wouldn't she?
Warnings: Sheba has a tendency to try to read the minds of people she doesn't know well, though it's up to you if it's successful or not. The likelihood of her trying it is way up since she's sort of on edge right now.

[Floor 01 - The Cafeteria]
[The line for food is shorter than usual, Sheba notes. And the cafeteria is emptier. It's comforting and terrifying at the same time, but she tries to dismiss the feeling of unease - there are still people here, just less of them, it's not like the ruins of Weyard - and makes her way to the front to get something to eat.

When she gets there and sees what the meal options are, she raises an eyebrow.

Suddenly she understands why the place wasn't very crowded.]

...is this some kind of joke?

[Floor 64 - The Desert]
[She's sitting down not too far from the stairs, idly tracing out designs and then directing the wind to wipe them away with a flick of her wrist. It's hot and mildly uncomfortable, yes, but it's also nostalgic in a way. Lalivero was almost as close to the desert as it was to the ocean, and in the days before monsters and windstorms had run rampant in the desert she'd gone there often.

When she closes her eyes, she can almost believe she's back home again - really home, not the empty shell of her world. She can feel the sand beneath her fingers, can feel the warmth of the sun at her back, and she can't see the staircase that indicates that this is no natural desert.

Another flick of her wrist, and this time a small whirlwind begins to form in front of her. It only comes up to about her waist, and she's definitely keeping it under control, but there's something about it that makes her smile.

Maybe this floor wasn't so bad after all. She waves her hand with a giggle and the whirlwind nearly doubles in size - anyone on the stairs might have wind, dirt, or both to contend with as they pass through or even stop.]

[Floor 81 - The Stratosphere Lounge]
[It's getting late, and Sheba knows she should probably start heading back up to her room before a monster finds her or something, but she's plenty comfortable where she is - curled up and resting on the glass bulge that allows them to see out beyond the Tower's walls.

The stars are breathtaking, but it's the fog that really catches her attention. She can't help but wonder what's under it - what's out there. Is it really so terrible there that being confined to the Tower would be preferable to it? She just doesn't know, and try as she might she can't see anything to help her make up her mind one way or another.

It's relaxing to just look at the fog, though her thoughts do start to stray - and that's not really something she wants. With a heavy sigh, she turns her head away from the ground far below them and looks up at the stars.]

So they're beautiful here too...

Comments

Floor 1

[crouching_sin]

[... Oh. There she is. He's been wondering where she was, if only vaguely.]

It's a Jason month. So food options are limited.

[seekinganswers]

[Wandering around in the decayed husk that is now her homeworld. NBD.]

Not a very imaginative guy, is he?

[crouching_sin]

It's less lack of imagination and more lack of a desire to care about us.

Cafeteria PARTY HARD

[bloodyashes]

It was like this the month I arrived.

[Sup, Sheba, don't mind the redhead who just sort-of snuck up behind you, or the face he's making at the menu options. He folds his arms.]

Apparently, it's something of a signature for Jason.

PARTY ALL NIGHT LONG

[seekinganswers]

...!

[She whirls to face him, and the thing is she really doesn't mind, because just seeing a familiar face causes her more relief than is probably healthy in this place. With Asch here in front of her, she at least knows he's alright. It takes her a moment to come up with anything to really say.]

It... makes it easy to see why you took up hunting here.

[bloodyashes]

[He just nods in response for a moment.]

It's getting to be practically a requirement to know someone who can cook, during times like this.

[Between this and the period last month where the cafeteria workers just vanished... Yep, he's on permanent chef duty.]

Floor 81

[evokingfool]

[It's getting late and Minato should return to his dorm. However, he can probably make it back safely without dying. If he did die, he would find himself in his room with a new body.

The lounge floors are some of his favourite places to visit and idle on, as a temporary place to rest up before wandering the tower or return to the dorms. He did notice the girl and overhear her words.]

...The stars? Yes, they are beautiful.

[seekinganswers]

I never really thought about them much before I came here.

[Her words are tinged with regret. Maybe if she'd given more thought to the stars, she'd be able to recall what the night sky over Weyard had looked like before everything had perished... but she can't.

A moment passes, and she shifts to finally look at the person talking to her. Blue hair - her first thought is that maybe he's a Lemurian, but she knows that's not right. She manages to smile, though.]

Do you come to this floor often?

[evokingfool]

[Compared to Sheba, Minato would sometime look at the stars when he was younger. The Dark Hour can be lonely for a young boy and there wasn't a lot he could do at the time.

He blinks, before answering.]

Not that often, but I do come to this floor whenever I can. But that depends on my plans of the day.

floor 64

[windpower]

[This place has to be one of the strangest Karis had ever been to. Looking out at the desert, it was hard to believe she was still inside a tower. She could only assume this was some sort of massive alchemy machine, but even that she couldn't be sure of.

The tint of psynergy as the dust storm she'd been vaguely aware of kicks up draws her thoughts out of her head and into her surroundings. Another adept--maybe they knew what was going on!

Still, she'd have to get through this wind first. With a gesture she moved to cut the whirlwind's power at least enough to give her a view of the desert that wasn't filled with sand.]

Hello? Is someone there?

[seekinganswers]

...!

[There weren't many who could cut into her power like that - the shock of it causes Sheba to dismiss the whirlwind entirely, and as the dust settles Karis will have a view of not only the desert in its entirety, but of the Adept that had been playing with the wind. Said Adept was staring right at her.]

Oh, hello.

[The words are said with a slight smile.]

Sorry... was that bothering you?

[windpower]

No, I'm sorry, I just felt psynergy here and followed it. Were you using those for something?

[It's then that Karis gets a proper look at the other girl. She looks very much like Sheba. Younger, but not that much younger (not that she, like the rest of her father's friends, had aged much). Still, it couldn't be her, because it's not like Sheba could age down. While she's confused, for now she dismisses it.]

I've only just arrived here. Do you know what's going on?

Floor 81

[lightofhumanity]

[While chaos had looked at the illusion downstairs that showed universes being destroyed over and over again when he wanted to glimpse at the stars, he much preferred this floor. It reminded him much less of his role, and how he had failed to protect his universe so far. The one he and Mary had worked so hard to save, even though they had plenty of failures.

However, when he saw, sensed, and heard a person speak when he entered the floor, he couldn't help put smile.]

They really are. The higher you get, the more lovely the stars become.

[seekinganswers]

That makes sense. Things are almost always more beautiful the closer you get to them.

[She shifts so that she can look at chaos, greeting him with a slight smile.]

Do you stargaze much?

Time for some new CR? - Floor 81

[neverbeamemory]

[As predicted, indeed Floor 81 has become the new Floor 45 for anyone curious to look outside of the Tower and wonder. Indeed being an elevator-served floor as well, so well trafficked meant that even as day drew out into night it was rare for Sephiroth to ever find any monsters here.

He's not on a monster hunt specifically, more of a sanctuary-search as he is wont to do when his mind is feeling a little heavy. This has been the 3rd day in a row he's sought out somewhere to collect his thoughts in the evening. He's not much of a stalker, but any of the things he's seen today from his mark could be important and it's vital he not miss any detail.

Sheba looks fairly familiar but they've not ever spoken; even having spent such a long time in an elevator together. He's not about to impose on her space and so instead heads over to one of the nearby armchairs instead and then he hears her comment. He wonders if he should even offer a comment back, but then he does enjoy watching the stars sometimes are well.]

"So inviting, aren't they?"

ALL the CR! Sorry for the late reply!

[seekinganswers]

[She hears motion behind her as Sephiroth makes his way to the armchair, but she doesn't turn. If it were a monster, it would certainly have been much louder.

It's when he speaks that she does turn, just enough so that she can give him a once-over. She recognizes him from the elevator and she's seen him in passing around the Tower, but she's never even gotten his name, let alone held a conversation with him before.

There was a first time for everything, she supposed.]

They are. They make me feel like there's still more out there, and that it might be possible for us to escape here someday. Any of those stars might be some other world where we can live in relative peace...

81

[warriorscribe]

*So little time before sunset...Enoch is already getting tired. If the elevator hadn't stopped for someone else on this floor, he might not have wandered off on his own.

He blinks and refocuses as he realizes he's not on the dorm floors. ...Oh well, there's still time before sunset. Enoch walks out towards the windows, unafraid of the potential drop - the windows elsewhere seemed unbreakable, after all, standing near Sheba. He doesn't address her at first, letting out a quiet sigh in the company of one of the companions he'd been with for the bulk of their journey beneath the tower.*

They are...if only the sky was as familiar as this world's name.

[seekinganswers]

[She doesn't seem too startled by Enoch's presence; when she glances up at him, it's with a bit of curiosity - what was he doing here so late? - but with absolutely no alarm. Enoch had proven in the elevator that he was trustworthy; why shouold she fear?]

I guess the only thing we can do is make ourselves familiar with this sky...

[This might be a good place to work on a star chart, assuming there was any sort of consistency here...]

HIIIIIII new CR time :D Floor 64!

[gradosfinest]

[Another day, another chance to explore the Tower. And with food outside of those horrible bars as scarce as it is exploring a bit more closely in the hopes of finding things that are edible is the task of the day. Besides she hasn't really been through these floors at all, so now's as good a chance as any!

And it was going so well too until she set foot on this floor, one moment climbing the staircase and the next being assailed by a sudden gust of wind and a face full of sand. It's sudden enough to catch her by surprise as she shields her face with her arms, unable to pinpoint the cause of it for a moment, but it doesn't stop her from calling out somewhat angrily.]

Ack- what the hell?! [This is what she gets for letting her mind wander for a second.]

Yay! <3 New CR is always wonderful!

[seekinganswers]

[...oops.

Thankfully, Sheba hears Amelia's voice over the roar of the wind, and barely a moment passes before the air is still again, the sand dropping back to the ground and scattering over the stairs. The Adept looks repentant, at least, and she sounds it when she speaks up.]

Sorry! I didn't realize anyone was there.

Floor 01

[whiteblackknight]

[Allen, sitting a few feet nearby, appears to be in some kind of coma. One that you can easily get out from if you have the will to live. Allen's will to live was deeply in the red.]


...they really must hate us. [He springs to the table where Sheba is sitting--on the table, actually] What kind of sick perverts would do this!? It's just a bar! I swear those administrator guys had better stop with the jokes because this is getting ridiculous!

1/2

[seekinganswers]

[Whoa suddenly Allen is on the table--]

2/2

[seekinganswers]

[A moment passes, and her expression settles into a frown as she listens to him.]

We should be glad that they're giving us anything at all, I guess, but... [And then she makes a face.] Even the oatmeal would be better than this.

It's making me wonder if we're being punished for something.

[Such as that trip down the elevator...]

Cafeteria

[morituramfides]

Not even close.

[Well, just because he hated Jason doesn't mean Jin really preferred to starve. It was a good thing nutrition bars didn't carry the usual trauma as every other time Jason breathed in public.]

Every three or four months it's the same. He thinks anything beyond this is unnecessary.

[seekinganswers]

Ugh.

[She pulls a face and snags one of the nutrition bars, holding it up to examine it.]

I bet that's just his excuse for not being creative enough to come up with an actual menu. The more I hear about this jerk, the less I like him.