001. overture

[dragonbard]

Characters: Nils & Open
Setting: Room 2-04, Cafeteria
Format: Any, though beginning in brackets
Summary: Newcomer Nils is trying to wrap his head around everything that's been happening. It's a lot to take in for the thirteen-year-old. He misses his older sister already.
Warnings: Aside from a sobbing Nils, none really. Memories of a character death as well.

Room 2-04

[He isn't numb when he comes to in his room. His eyes glance over the puzzling message as he sits on the edge of his bed. His world, destroyed? Nils is hit by a second wave of grief, the first one swamping him after seeing his sister dead on the floor. Perhaps, in the past, he would have been secretly pleased that the world was purged from existence. The number of people who had been unkind to him far exceeded the number of souls who were willing to take the siblings under their wings. On the other hand, after becoming familiar with the Lycian League's kindness, he finds that tears swim in his eyes at the thought of their elimination.

He begins to weep uncontrollably with the letter in his lap.]

Cafeteria

[After swallowing his tears, Nils slips down to the cafeteria. There are a few people, creatures, what-have-yous milling about. Some of them are sitting with bowls of oatmeal. He retrieves his own bowl and stares at it quietly. He's... never seen anything like it before. On the other hand, it somewhat resembled the gruel that Lyndis would cook up with Rebecca when there was nothing else to eat. Another part of him is also busy wondering if his stomach is even capable of digesting the brown mixture. Nils prods the food with a spoon and his stomach sinks when the oatmeal wobbles a bit.]

Comments

[dragonbard]

[Chocolate chip whats? Ninian had saved him pieces of chocolate during their trips into town. It would be nice to have some again. He figures pancaked must be good too if Riku is bringing them up.]

I'll go see later then. [First, he really should finish whatever this "oatmeal" was. He took a second scoop. How could food lack flavor to this extent? He wasn't very sure what he was eating.]

Um, I'm Nils.

[keybearer]

Nils, huh? Well, the name's Riku.

[Know what? He'll go ahead and sit down. Not like he's going anywhere fast.]

[dragonbard]

It's nice to meet you, Riku.

[He hears his sister's voice echoing in his head, warning him not to talk with strangers. Still, if everyone he was familiar with was gone, well, he didn't think he could bear being alone. He falls deep in thought as he eats his third spoonful of oatmeal. It's enough to distract him from the flavor and the texture.

Except that he chokes a bit on the dry food as he tries to hold back his tears.]

[keybearer]

[Well, that was sudden. The moment he starts choking up, Riku's eyes pop wide open.]

Hey, what's wrong?

[dragonbard]

[After a bit of coughing, Nils shakes his head.] U-um, it's fine. The oatmeal's a little dry and I didn't expect it to be.

[He pauses for a moment before continuing.]

I... was thinking about people.

[keybearer]

Ha. I know how that goes, on both counts.

[Not only did the oatmeal surprise him on his first try, but he's found it all too easy to get lost in his thoughts about the people he misses.

He'll go ahead and prop his head up with one of his hands, elbow pressed into the table's edge.]

But, you know, they could show up. It's happened before.

[dragonbard]

[Riku's probably the one person who's managed to cheer NIls up the most.]

R-really?

[It would be nice to see Sir Eliwood, Sir Hector, and Lady Lyndis again. It would make him very happy, even if he could not see Ninian.] I... I hope so. [He takes another bite at his oatmeal, wondering if he actually has to finish this.]

[keybearer]

Really.

[Here, he'll even crack a smile. For all the cynicism he's built up over his time in the tower, he still doesn't have too much trouble trying to cheer others up. Kind of ironic, really.]

I've seen it happen plenty of times. Just about every month, people pop up here, and you never know who they'll drag here next. Could take a while, but maybe you'll see them sooner than you think.

[dragonbard]

[Riku's smile is incredibly reassuring to Nils.] That's really good to hear...

[He stares into his bowl of half-eaten oatmeal before asking another question.] Do you... Do you think, maybe, even if a person was already dead -- do you think they could come here too? [His words come out all in a jumble.]

[keybearer]

Hmm... Well, I think it may've happened a few times, but don't quote me on that.

[After all, he hasn't kept an eye on everyone in the tower. Hasn't even gone back to his dead world, either.]

The thing about this tower is that sometimes you'll bump into people from different times. So, even if somebody did die, there's nothing stopping them from popping up from before their deaths.

[dragonbard]

[It's a lot for Nils to wrap his head around. Still, this seems to be pretty good news for him. He nods his head at Riku's words.]

I don't... understand how that can be possible. [Then again, nothing about this tower made sense.] I won't question it though!

[Because, quite frankly, that's some very good news to him.]

[keybearer]

Hey, there's another version of me here-- weird things happen all the time in this place.

[He chuckles. Really, keeping an open mind is the best route. Fewer headaches that way.]

[dragonbard]

Another... version of you? [He doesn't understand that either, but he also decides keeping an open mind is probably for the best.]

It's... a very strange place, this tower.

[keybearer]

A version of me who went through completely different experiences, and that's ignoring the fact that my Replica's here along with his double.

[It's kinda headache inducing to think about, but by now he's adjusted. His double's pretty cool, anyway.]

[dragonbard]

[So that means that there are... four Rikus floating around?]

O...h that sounds confusing. Are they all nice too?