Claudia Hortensia Kotomine [AU: Master] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sicharia) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2013-05-02 02:11 pm
sicharia) wrote in towerofanimus2013-05-02 02:11 pm
one.
Characters: Claudia and OPEN
Date: Through the end of April to the beginning of May
Setting: Floor 101, Floor 100, Floor 69, various
Format: Action preferred
Summary: Claudia looks for a place to pray
Warnings: None yet
Floor 101
[This is a nice floor, she thinks. Pretty. She wanders through it aimlessly, her fingertips brushing against the hanging plants here and there. If one were to pay attention to her manner, they would see she isn't; her expression is distracted, Claudia absorbed in her own thoughts. Perhaps drifting away into her own mind isn't the safest thing to do in a place like this, but at the moment, she isn't thinking about being safe.]
[Eventually, she comes to a decision, her gazing shifting to more focused as she does so. She'll pray, just as she always does when her heart is troubled and in need of guidance. She just needs to find a place to do so.]
Floor 100
[Claudia spends exactly two minutes on this floor before she makes for the exit. Her eye is wet.]
Various Floors
[She picks her way through an assortment of floors, trying to find ones that are both benign and largely overlooked. It's a little difficult, seeing as she is purposefully avoiding both the cathedral and the meadow found in the lower parts of the Tower. The latter isn't a place she wants to revisit right now, and as for the former—]
[Well, she doesn't want to pray in a cathedral built by the sort of people who would do what the administrators have done. That's all.]
Floor 69
[This is the floor she settles on. It actually feels peaceful here, and peace of mind is exactly what she's after, isn't it? It's a little strange, walking on clouds this way, but at the same time, it's almost enjoyable. It makes her recall the kinds of things she imagined as a child, when she thought about what heaven must be like.]
[It would be easy miss her pale skin and fair hair amongst all the white, and especially when she has knelt in prayer, so it's a good thing her dress is dark in color. Even more so when she doesn't want to move.]
Date: Through the end of April to the beginning of May
Setting: Floor 101, Floor 100, Floor 69, various
Format: Action preferred
Summary: Claudia looks for a place to pray
Warnings: None yet
Floor 101
[This is a nice floor, she thinks. Pretty. She wanders through it aimlessly, her fingertips brushing against the hanging plants here and there. If one were to pay attention to her manner, they would see she isn't; her expression is distracted, Claudia absorbed in her own thoughts. Perhaps drifting away into her own mind isn't the safest thing to do in a place like this, but at the moment, she isn't thinking about being safe.]
[Eventually, she comes to a decision, her gazing shifting to more focused as she does so. She'll pray, just as she always does when her heart is troubled and in need of guidance. She just needs to find a place to do so.]
Floor 100
[Claudia spends exactly two minutes on this floor before she makes for the exit. Her eye is wet.]
Various Floors
[She picks her way through an assortment of floors, trying to find ones that are both benign and largely overlooked. It's a little difficult, seeing as she is purposefully avoiding both the cathedral and the meadow found in the lower parts of the Tower. The latter isn't a place she wants to revisit right now, and as for the former—]
[Well, she doesn't want to pray in a cathedral built by the sort of people who would do what the administrators have done. That's all.]
Floor 69
[This is the floor she settles on. It actually feels peaceful here, and peace of mind is exactly what she's after, isn't it? It's a little strange, walking on clouds this way, but at the same time, it's almost enjoyable. It makes her recall the kinds of things she imagined as a child, when she thought about what heaven must be like.]
[It would be easy miss her pale skin and fair hair amongst all the white, and especially when she has knelt in prayer, so it's a good thing her dress is dark in color. Even more so when she doesn't want to move.]
no subject
I'm— [Flustered at having been caught, she doesn't manage much of a pokerface, and she casts a glance back over her shoulder to the room as a whole.] I'm fine. I guess I was just a little—startled.
no subject
It's a strange floor, isn't it? I learned that it shows something different to everyone.
[He doesn't want to pry, but it's hard not to acknowledge that she's upset. She must have seen something from home that brought up upsetting memories. He could be upset about the park, himself, and he had been taken aback when he first saw it, but he likes to remember the happier times.]
I'm sorry if it upset you.
no subject
Does it? Then... [She glances backward again and bites her lip. Then why—this? It seems especially cruel, and she frowns.]
Those people— They're really... [Her lips start to curl into another word once or twice, but apparently, she can't find one that expresses her feelings adequately. She gives up and looks back to him, attempting to dry her eye as subtly as possible as she speaks.] What kind of things does it show people?
no subject
[He glances at the park he can see even now as he says this.]
I like to see it, even though it makes me sad. So I come here sometimes, just to look and remember.
[He knows he'll never go there again, in the springtime, in the sunlight. He's silent, for a moment.]
They're terrible people, the ones in charge here. Maybe they thought we'd like to be reminded of home, but I can't give them that much credit.
no subject
[Even if it must be a bittersweet feeling for him. Slowly, she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, looking everywhere but at his face.]
Yes, they are. This is—cruel, I think. [She hesitates, but if he had shared with her—] It's...the home that Kirei and I had together, before he...
no subject
Oh. Your husband. I'm sorry. That must be hard, since you... [He trails off. He can only imagine how he'd feel, if he lost Aoi.] He must have been a good man.
That is cruel. Maybe it shows us places that were important to us? Places we miss.
no subject
[Older, she means to say, not that she doesn't already know there are children here. It's a little strange to think something like that, but it's better than the alternative.]
[She manages a smile, but the expression is melancholy.]
Mm, maybe it does. [The explanation makes sense to her. She does miss this place, even if it's something she would have rather not seen.] Thank you. Yes, he was a good man.
[She's sure of that. He was a good person, who deserved more than she gave him.]
no subject
[They're both much more powerful than he is, well, except for the fact that he has Berserker, but that's different. He doesn't mention Rin's--condition.]
Though I like to think they still need their uncle sometimes. I'll do everything I can to help them, if they ever need it. I try to do what I can.
[He nods.] I know I'd like to see the park again someday. [If he could play there again with the children, just once, he'd be a truly happy man.]
Would you like to talk about it?
no subject
That's good to hear. I'm glad. [Her smiles broadens, just a bit.] Mm, I'm sure they're happy to have you here. It's always nice to have someone who cares, that you can depend on.
[Never mind in a situation like this. When he asks if she wants to talk, she looks briefly taken aback, and then she glances away. Again, she's flustered.]
About—Kirei? [She laughs, the sound shy, and shakes her head.] Ahh, that's not something I need to inflict on other people. I'm fine.
no subject
If you wanted to talk about being upset, I mean. Sometimes it helps me to talk about things, when I'm upset. [Not that he always does that. In fact, a lot of the time he keeps things bottled up instead. He knows that doesn't really help...] You wouldn't be inflicting it on me. I'd be willing to listen.
no subject
[She sighs, then, expression turning more uncertain as she considers.]
I don't know. It's just— Even if I could go back to that house, it wouldn't be the same as before, and I don't really appreciate the reminder of that. That's all.
[That isn't really all, but saying anything more than that veers into territory personal enough that she isn't sure she's comfortable sharing it.]
no subject
I think I understand. I was upset when I first came here. It feels wrong, that they can look into our minds and show us things like that. Private things. Especially things we'd rather not see.
It's not the place that matters, so much as the people who were there. Without them, it feels--empty.
[He certainly doesn't want to press or make her feel uncomfortable. If the subject is upsetting her, he's content to avoid it.]
If you ever want to talk about it, you can, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to.
We could go somewhere else, if you'd like.
no subject
[She nods slightly, acknowledging his offer.]
Maybe another time. Thank you. [She appreciates the offer, and if she were to talk about this kind of thing with anyone, she would probably choose Kariya.] Yes, I think I'd rather go somewhere else. Ah, but you don't have to come with me, if you'd rather stay here.
no subject
You're welcome. All right.
Oh no, I can come here any time. [He does have to admit, it doesn't exactly cheer him up. It can make him feel worse, thinking of all the things that will never be. It's just that he feels drawn here sometimes, when he's alone and feeling lonely.] It would be nice to have some company. That is, if you don't mind.
no subject