010 ♃ it's all a game of this or that, now versus then

[seekinganswers]

Characters: Sheba and... wait for it... YOU! And also closed threads for Asch, Saturos, and Xion.
Setting: The music room and the restaurant for open prompts, and the library, the dorms, and floor 52 for closed prompts!
Format: Brackets because I am too tired to prose at the moment that I'm writing this. But I can switch if you want!
Summary: First, Sheba deals with some fallout regarding a castmate's arrival. Next, she gets distracted by music. Then, she gets hungry and goes on a quest for restaurant food.
Warnings: She's toned down her mind reading by a lot, but may try and peek at your character's thoughts if they say something that makes her curious. It's up to you if she succeeds in finding anything, though! Also, the last prompt may involve character injury or death. c:

[Library - backdated to just after this thread, closed to Asch.]
[This just feels really awkward.

She hasn't met Asch's eyes since he'd essentially chased Saturos away. For as much as she's found out about his past by reading his mind and sifting through his memories (and even that isn't much), she hasn't come anywhere near as close to sharing as much about her own past. Talking about Saturos had been the furthest thing from her mind, anyway - a small part of her had known that even people who had died on their worlds could appear here, but she'd never in a million years thought that she'd see the Proxian again.

She glances at Asch out of the corner of her eye and sighs as they make their way to a more secluded section of the library. She still has no idea what to say, aside from -]

Um... thank you, for before.

[Dorm floor 2 hallway near room 02-05 and 02-06 - backdated to in the evening after the above thread with Asch, closed to Saturos.]
[It's been a long day. Sheba would like nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep (though she knows it's not really a bed), and in fact she has every intention of doing just that as soon as she gets to her room.

But she has to pause as she approaches, because there's a familiar figure - too familiar, and not in the good way - standing at a door right near hers.

She sighs heavily when she realizes what it must be. Great. First they take away Felix and replace him with Saturos, and now his room is this close? She figures she must have really pissed someone off.

Her earlier reprieve had just been temporary, it seemed.]

...Saturos. Hello again.

[Floor 28 music room - not backdated, open.]
[There are more important things she could be doing with her time, and she's aware of that, but sometimes a girl just needs to relax. This is one of them.

It doesn't particularly bother her that the instruments are playing all on their own. She's sitting off a few feet from the staircase, near a harp, munching on some food brought up from the cafeteria for her lunch and watching the strings pluck themselves to try and get an idea of what strings make what sound. She'd never really learned to play an instrument on Weyard, but it was easy to see - or rather, hear - the appeal.]

I guess it's never a bad time to learn something new...

[The words are spoken mostly to herself, but are said out loud - loud enough for someone on the stairs to hear, certainly.]

[Floor 21 restaurant to start - not backdated, open to the first person to reply to it.
NOTE: There's a risk of death/injury in this prompt.]
[It's dinnertime and Sheba's mouth is watering. She knows - knows - that it's not safe to eat at the restaurant, but she can't help it. She's got her eye on some of the dishes they're not serving in the cafeteria, and she just can't get it out of her mind.

If someone else decides to eat with her, she decides, she'll find out what it is they want and they can go hunt down the cost of their meal together. Whether it's a friend or someone she's never really spoken to, she flags down the next person to pass onto the floor with a smile.]

Hey! Were you thinking about eating at the restaurant?

[Floor 52 - July 20, closed to Xion]
[Sheba would be kicking herself if the situation weren't dire. She and Xion are covered in blood, looking rather worse for the wear, and are now in the center of a floor that seems to be made of playing cards. They can't just run for the staircase - being dumped onto the floor by a Floormaster counted for putting up the blockade the same way that stepping onto the floor did.

(Note to self: Next time she and Xion hang out, they leave to catch the elevator before it gets dark, so a Floormaster can't grab them as they're waiting for it to arrive.)

She winces and gets to her feet, looking down at the pattern warily.]

How are we going to get out of this one...?

Comments

[bloodyashes]

...It's nothing.

[He's not exactly un-awkward himself - he doesn't regret using his hyperresonance there, not really, but it does shift the balance of power a little. He's used to avoiding it, used to almost forgetting that it's there because it's so dangerous...

Somehow, the worker units haven't removed his beanbag from the back corner. He takes a seat in it a bit awkwardly.]

So who was he? You're obviously not friends.

[seekinganswers]

[She doesn't sit. She does, however, linger near the beanbag. She toys nervously with the stones hanging from the hem of the front of her cloak as she tries to figure out how to describe Saturos.]

...he found me in the desert when my guards were killed by monsters on the way back to Lalivero from Tolbi. [Her voice is very, very quiet.] It's because he took me with him when he went to Venus Lighthouse that I even met Felix and became involved with his quest to save Weyard.

[Well, that's one way of simplifying it.]

[bloodyashes]

I take it he didn't give you much choice.

[It's kind of... obvious, given how the man treated her, and how she reacted.

There's another awkward moment, and then he shifts over on the large beanbag to give her somewhere to sit.]

[seekinganswers]

[Sheba releases the breath she hadn't been aware that she was holding in a soft sigh.]

With Saturos, the choice is always Do as I say or perish. [She makes a mock-angry face in a rather terrible imitation of the Proxian, then tries to smile. It doesn't look quite right.

After a moment where she stares at the open space on the beanbag, she takes a seat next to him.]

He tried to burn Lalivero when the people there tried to take me back from him. He - he very nearly killed a group of scholars at the base of Venus Lighthouse, when he couldn't get in... [She swallows hard.] I think he would have done it, if I hadn't told him about the other entrance. And then he was... angry, that I hadn't told him what I knew sooner.

[bloodyashes]

[...He's kind of angry now - if nothing else, at least Van hadn't mistreated him, kidnapping and isolation aside. Someone like this...

The hand that's on the side away from her tightens in the beanbag.]

About time he got a taste of his own medicine, then.

[If it were possible, he has even fewer regrets now, about what he did a little while ago.]

[seekinganswers]

He did, though.

[She still isn't looking at him, so she doesn't notice that his hand has tightened in the beanbag. She can hear a slight tinge of anger in his voice, though.]

Another group of Adepts was following him... they killed him and his partner, Menardi. And they fell from the Lighthouse. He should have been at the bottom of the sea, rotting... I never thought I'd see him again. [She closes her eyes and shudders.] Not here. Not like this.

...I don't think he... knows about that, though. The reason he didn't leave me to die in the desert was because he needed me to open Jupiter Lighthouse for him. The way he said unfinished business... that was the only business we ever had with each other.

Floor 21! Because this is probably a bad idea.

[gradosfinest]

[Honestly Amelia was just here for the elevator, coming down from the gym floor the long way. Because like hell was she about to set foot on Floor 41 without Wriggle next to her. She's heard of this place but never really given it much thought before.

Until Sheba just happens to flag her down at this exact moment. Amelia does manage to smile at her, a little bit surprised to see her here but she can understand why. It does sound like the food here is better...]

Sheba! I haven't seen you in awhile... sure? I mean, I've thought about eating here once or twice although I half expect it to be trapped somehow. [This is said in a perfectly casual tone of voice, she's starting to get used to most of the Tower trying to kill everyone.]

Bad ideas are the best ideas.

[seekinganswers]

I guess we've both been a little busy.

[Amelia with getting killed, Sheba with... making questionable friends, really. These things happened. At least Amelia was one friend she had who didn't have a rather ambiguous set of morals.

She glances at the entrance to the restaurant, then at Amelia.]

It's not trapped, but to pay for the food we have to find something specific and bring it to them. If we don't, they take something from us. [She sighs.] I keep telling myself I shouldn't do it, but the food smells so good... and if there's two of us, I'm sure we can team up and find both our items very quickly! Don't you think?

Hell yes they are.

[gradosfinest]

[She thinks about that one for a moment. This could end horribly, she could potentially wind up getting killed. Again.

And it sucked enough last time.

But kicking back and having a meal with a friend would be a nice moment, something almost resembling normal in this place. A momentary break from everything, and Sheba so far seems to be one of the few people who's... well. Sane. It could backfire horribly, but perhaps it could be a useful bit of training too. Learn something new about one of the Tower's floors or something.]

That's a pretty good point... I mean, I'll admit this might not be a good idea? But sure, why not. Might as well do it now while we have one of the less crazy Admins in charge.[And if it does get them killed, well... it'll be a lesson learned.]

[seekinganswers]

Great!

[This wasn't the first bad idea Sheba'd ever had. It probably wouldn't be the last. At least she's making bad choices in a place where the consequences aren't really permanent.

She's all smiles as she hefts her staff up to rest on one shoulder and leans back on her heels.]

So - we eat, and then we get asked to pay. Let's get something really good, just in case we can't get the payment and it kills us!

[Only in the Tower could someone say something like that so cheerfully.]

[gradosfinest]

[Somehow the fact Sheba's also realized this is a terrible idea actually brightens Amelia's mood a bit. Enough so that she actually grins, nodding in response.]

Right, that makes sense! Going for broke huh? Any idea what kinda stuff they usually ask for payment? I've never actually been here before...

[And in a way, it feels like this is putting the incident they had during Jason's previous month further behind them, even if it could quite possibly get one or both of them killed. At least they won't be trying to kill each other.]

[ambassadorasshat]

[Hi Sheba, random redhead interrupting your music party. Not Asch, though, just the one that looks like him.]

...Is that playing by itself?

[seekinganswers]

Yeah. [She looks over at Luke and shrugs, though she's got a small, slightly mischievous smile on her face.] I think maybe it's haunted.

[She pats the ground next to her and gestures at the food she's brought up.] Sit down. Maybe if we ask nicely, it'll play us a song.

[ambassadorasshat]

[Don't say it's haunted and then invite him to come sit down near it.]

...Why would I want to go in there if it's possessed by something?

[But he does anyway, giving the harp suspicious looks as he does, sitting so that Sheba is mostly between him and the harp.]

[seekinganswers]

Where's your spirit of adventure?

[She grins at him as he approaches and shifts so that she can sit with her legs crossed. She can't help but raise an eyebrow at the way he situates himself, though.

Sticking a young girl between yourself and something potentially dangerous? Rude, Luke.]

[ambassadorasshat]

Sh-shut up.

[He'll put her between him and something potentially dangerous...but that doesn't mean he won't help her if it does turn out to be dangerous. Also young girls aren't necessarily people to be underestimated.]

What were you saying about learning something new?

[heatflash]

Sheba.

[He turns to her. What a pleasant surprise. He'd thought for sure that he would have to actually try to find her again, and here she was just walking up to him. He looks her up and down before smirking faintly.]

Your friend isn't here to save you this time.

[seekinganswers]

He doesn't have to be. [The answer is snappish and comes immediately, and is coupled with a slight scowl.] I can save myself. And you're not going to do anything to me - if you do, you're not getting any answers from me at all.

[This time, she isn't going to back down. She isn't alone in the Tower, even if there's no one here with her right at this moment. She can do this.]

[heatflash]

Touchy, touchy. It wouldn't have escalated like that if you'd just cooperated, you know.

[Really. These teenagers and their silly little rebellious attitudes. She'd been so compliant while heading up through Venus Lighthouse, and now this... He leaves his sword sheathed and his hands at his sides for now. She's all but said that she'll talk to him if he doesn't threaten her.]

I trust you'll be more cooperative now. So I'll ask you again: What happened to Weyard?

[seekinganswers]

[She can't help it - at his question, she rolls her eyes.]

Can't you read? It was destroyed.

[A moment passes, and her expression softens. As awful as Saturos has been to her in the past, that was harsh - especially because she knows that even though his methods were questionable, his intentions were to do what was best for Weyard.

(Well, what was best for Prox, but Weyard would have ended up profiting from it too.)

She sighs.]

But it wasn't because Alchemy wasn't restored to the world. It was something else... we're still trying to figure out what, exactly. But I've... been back since then. Weyard is still as big as it was before I got here. It's just that there's no life on it at all.

They tell us that they were... watching our worlds, and when they saw that everyone was going to die, they saved us. [She frowns.] I don't know how true that is. The administrators' minds are protected - I wasn't able to get anything useful out of them.

[Floor 28] this is so late it's edging on satirical comedy

[morituramfides]

It's good if you need to drown out the conversation.

[It was kind of a dull observation-- but hey, an accurate one, from his point of view. The most use he'd seen the instruments get that was...actually useful was the others using them to try and drown out the microphone bugs all around here.

And honestly Jin didn't really care about that, he was just kind of...awkwardly talking because this is someone he actually recognized. He was pretty sure he felt the vague inkling to apologize, but then he was also pretty sure he didn't.]

it's not too late, it's never too laaaate...

[seekinganswers]

[At the sound of Jin's voice, Sheba turns away from the harp to look at him, and it's evident from the way her expression changes - from relatively pleasant to something decidedly neutral, if a bit uncomfortable - that she remembers him.

Part of her feels like she should apologize, but there's something about getting blown up with a grenade that makes her loath to bring that situation up again.]

That's true. [Though, who knew if that would work? The administrators seemed almost too thorough to let something from a floor that they put in be enough to keep them from hearing a conversation if they really wanted to. There's a pause, and then she pats the ground next to her.] Do you want to sit down? I checked the floor for monsters earlier and for the moment it's safe, if you need to rest.

stop singing three days grace

[morituramfides]

I'm fine. [He said, half waving his hand dismissively at the notion, though there wasn't that much heart in it anyway.]

'Sides, I'm fine defending myself from the monsters around here when people aren't trying to snoop in my head.

[A very pointed look, though he wasn't necessarily being malicious or harsh about it. If he were a little lighter about it, you'd almost think it was a joke.]

iiiit's now or never

[seekinganswers]

[She meets his pointed look with one that is decidedly unrepentant. She'd already apologized once - shortly before being blown up by a grenade - she wasn't going to do it again.

After a moment, her expression becomes more of a teasing smile.]

I guess most guys are too... [What's the word that some people had used?] Macho to let a girl protect them, huh.

NO

[morituramfides]

[And his pointed look just kind of dropped into an awkward crash of "wow, did you really just say that"?

"Macho" as not exactly on the list of adjectives that Jin had ever been accused of being.]

Yeah, that's it. [He says when he finally recovers, speaking with a bit of a haughty huff of voice.] So embarrassed that I blew both of us to kingdom come. [A scoff.] What a load...