towerofanimus | 009 ♃ the finger that you're pointing has knocked me on my knees

Characters: Sheba and you! And Sheba and Asch, too.
Setting: The graveyard and around the Tower in general for the open part; the third floor library for the closed part.
Format: Action to start, but I'll switch to prose if you want.
Summary: Backdated to a few days after the end of the Rebellion event. Sheba comes back to herself, and realizes that it's not exactly a pleasant place to be now that one of her close friends is gone and another of her close friends has died by her hand in the last few days.
Warnings: Angst, mentions of death/body modifications, but hey... at least she's freaked out enough by the fact that she was able to hear everyone all at once during the event that the chances of her trying to read your character's mind are way down ~~for once~~?

[The graveyard.]
[It has to be a lie, Sheba thinks as she struggles to catch her breath. But the name on the grave's headstone can't be denied - Felix's name is here, instead of by his door like it was supposed to be. She knows by now what it means when a grave appears on this floor, and perhaps she'd realized what had happened even before she arrived here. She'd turned on her heel and run all the way down from the dormitory levels (not stopping for anything or anyone, because the elevator was just too slow and she had to keep moving) as soon as she'd seen it, and why else would she come to the graveyard if some part of her hadn't accepted but felt the need to confirm that he was gone?

He can't be dead - she won't allow herself to believe that. But he's not here. Has his soul been sucked back to the ruins of Weyard, she wonders? Or maybe he found some way out, and the Administrators simply don't want the others to know.

But then why wouldn't he take me with him?

It's now, looking down at the grave, that she realizes she's taken him - and his kindness - for granted. Why hadn't she thanked him for what he'd done for her on Weyard when she had the chance? Why hadn't she tried to spend more time with him while he was here? She knows that sometimes the people whose graves appear here do return, but she also knows that's less likely to happen than him just staying gone is.

She takes a deep, shaky breath and sinks to her knees in front of the grave, her eyes locked on the name etched in the stone.]

You're really gone...

[She'll likely stay there for a long while, thinking in circles about what this means and what she has to do next, because a small part of her knows that it's no good to just stay here uselessly thinking about things she can't change, unless someone happens to find her there and interrupt her.]

[Around the tower - you pick the floor!]
[Sheba wishes she could say she was doing something more productive than just wandering, but, well - she can't, because she's not.

She's not really aware of where she is, though she is keeping an eye out for immediate dangers. Could she tell you what floor she's on? No. Could she tell you if there were monsters about to attack? Certainly, and she'd attack right back. She could use some outlet for her frustrations, even if her preferred attack brings back rather unpleasant memories.

You might see her sitting quietly, deep in thought; you might see her idly walking around the floor; you might see her coming up or down the stairs, or even waiting for - or waiting on - the elevator. Really, she's not picky about where she wanders to as long as it's not the dormitory levels or the graveyard; she doesn't want quite a potent reminder that her friend is gone.

Deep down, she knows she should start working on seeking out the people she wronged while her mind wasn't her own, but for the moment... she's just looking for any sort of distraction as she sorts out what her next move should be.]

[The Library - closed to Asch.]
[Enough time has passed for Sheba to get her head on straight - kind of.

She needs more information, and if prior experience here has taught her anything it's that after things like the last few days people tend to swarm the network with posts. She doesn't really want to see them face to face - even hearing peoples' voices aloud, with more than one or two people around her at once, reminds her of being unable to control the thoughts she could and couldn't hear - but she does need to figure out what it is that they know and how she can use it.

There's too many people on the dormitory levels. She doesn't want to hear them, even if they are just passing by. And besides, it's still too soon -

No, the library was better. People were quieter, and if it got overwhelming she could just move to a less crowded part or hide behind some shelves or even just grab a book, stick her nose in it, and make it abundantly clear that she wasn't really in the mood to talk.

She's on her way to one of the terminals when she spots it - a beanbag surrounded by stacks of books. Her footsteps, echoing faintly in the quiet of the library, slow; when she sees red hair they come to a stop entirely.

It's Asch. She knows she needs to apologize for what she did to him, and while she'd wandered around the last few days she'd thought of how to try to word that apology, but now that she's actually seen him the words die on her lips.

She clears her throat to get his attention, but keeps her distance. If he doesn't want anything to do with her right now, she can easily leave him alone. She's incredibly reluctant to force him to stay in her company after she'd given him no choice but to stand there while she killed him just a week or so before.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When people are pressed between a rock and a hard place..they will usually try their best to dig to the surface, if they can.

If it's me, I'd usually try to get the rock free and throw it at the hard place!

Even if the rock is a boulder heavier than you?

[He's teasing.]

I've sent heavier things flying before! [She's teasing right back.] I'm way tougher than I look!

[That got chaos to chuckle a little.]

Well, then you might be one of the few who do not need to climb out and can simply blast their way through.

I sure am!

What about you? How would you handle that kind of thing?

That would depend upon the situation. In some instances, I might decide to remain there for awhile. In others, I might crawl out, and in others, I might be able to blast my way through.

I guess something like that really is something you'd need to decide on a case-by-case basis, huh...

Exactly. Even in situations like that, each one is different, and thus, have to be handled in different ways.

...I wonder how we'd get stuck like that, anyway. I guess that'd be something that would affect how we handle it, too.

Well, two choices or hard events would come crashing into us, leaving very little wiggle-room. However..you are right. How they crashed into us would affect the choices we made after that event.

[Sheba sighs heavily and leans back.] It's not fair, is it? We're all kind of stuck like that right now. Do we just let the Administrators do as they will with us, or do we fight back?

There's probably not any option that will end happily.

It is up to each individual to make their own choices regarding that. However..while I do not know how it will end, I do know that once a person picks a side, they will have to fight in order to get anything done, be it with swords, words, or another method.

...we didn't ask for any of this. [Sheba hunches her shoulders and draws her knees up to her chest, staring out at the graves.] It's poor manners for our hosts to supposedly rescue us and then stick us in a situation like this.

You are right. We did not, and I am not trying to defend them. I am merely saying that it is up to each person how they react. Perhaps you should try and show them what the proper etiquette for this situation would be.

[Sheba can't help but giggle a little as she imagines trying to give the Administrators an etiquette lesson. Yeah, that wouldn't go over well...] And risk having Ruana use her newfound table manners as she made me the next main dish? No thanks!

[...it's a morbid thought, so why on earth is she smiling?]

[Because even though it was morbid, the idea by itself was pretty funny. While chaos didn't chuckle, he did smile at that.]

Don't worry. If we taught her right, she might actually become a vegetarian and eat nothing but salads.

Oh, that would be quite a relief!

[Though one of Sheba's roommates might need to worry, if that's the case.]

[While chaos knew that a few other residents might worry if that ever happened, he was mostly joking right now.]

We will have to let her know about this idea if we ever see her.

Of course!

[Sheba giggles, and it's clear that she's mostly joking, too. Then she tilts her head to the side.]

I wonder if they eat the same things we do. During months when Jason's in charge, do they all have to eat those nutrition bars?

[That was an interesting thought, and chaos smiled at it.]

I imagine that they have a bit more freedom with their menus, but to be honest, I do not truly know. It would be humorous if they had to eat what we ate during those months.

If we ever get the chance to ask them questions again... I think I'm going to ask that. I don't think the answer to that should be anything confidential...

[She's still a little sad that she wasn't able to have all her questions answered the first time - but she also realizes that she should probably be glad she was able to get what information they did give her.]

If they are willing to answer questions about how they can let us exist here even though our universes are destroyed, they should not have any trouble answering questions about their diets.

[While the answer that Zo had given chaos was a bit odd, it did help clear up a few questions he had. A few..but not everything.]

They might think it's too personal or something... [Sheba shrugs. Even if it's "too personal," that really won't stop her from asking. Though of course, after February, she'd learned not to try invading the administrators' minds.]

I wonder, though... have they ever really given us an answer to anything? An actual answer, one with information we can use, not just deflections or using words that they know we won't get the meaning of.

Perhaps. However, if Zo was willing to answer an important question of mine, they may not mind answering what sort of foods they do normally eat.

..They have, actually. I got a bit of information from them, and while it was wrapped up in an interesting example, it was information nonetheless.

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seekinganswers - 2013-05-24 01:58 (UTC) - Expand

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