towerofanimus | Never have I wanted to be more alone

Entry tags:

Never have I wanted to be more alone

Characters: [AU] Luke and [AU] Repliku, open
Setting: Luke: Mailroom/stairs outside [Monday], lower library [Tuesday-Friday], various floors/stairs [Monday-Friday], Lounge (floor 81) [Thursday]
Repliku: Mailroom [Tuesday], lower lounge [Monday-Thursday], Meadow (floor 25) [Wednesday], various [all week]
Format: Action brackets to start, will match prose
Summary: Catch-all event post for both of my characters. Luke gets mail, then proceeds to freak out about it, then has to deal with a herd of shadow children the rest of the week. Repliku gets his first piece of mail in 8 months and is also not happy about it. He gains fewer shadow children, and tries to ignore them by training in the rain.

Specify the day if you're choosing the 'various' prompt.
Warnings: WORDS, SO MANY WORDS, shadow children, some blood, possible Luke-tantrum, angst later in the week

Luke 1: Mailroom; Monday

[Luke had never gotten mail in the tower before. He knew he had a mailbox--found it entirely by accident while exploring, and was disappointed that it was empty. He checked it periodically, but it was always empty.

Until the 11th, when he opened it and found a small package, which he immediately snatched up and tore open...only to drop the whole thing, wrapping and all.]

Uwa! This thing's covered in blood. Who put this...huh?

[The jolt of hitting the floor jolted the item out, and he crouched down to get a better look.]

No...

L2: Lower Library; Tuesday-Friday

[The shadows hadn't appeared until late Monday. There were two of them at first, and they silently followed Luke around, no matter where he went. Shooing them did nothing, and his sword went right through them.

By Wednesday, they had tripled, and stopped being quiet. They clustered around him when he wasn't moving, whispering things he couldn't block out even with his hands over his ears. You're just as useless here as you were back home. You should've been destroyed along with the rest of us. Do you even care about us anymore?]

Sh-shut up, shut up! It's not my fault, I don't want to be here!

L3: Upper Lounge; Thursday

[Towards the end of the week, Luke is a wreck. He has no fewer than half a dozen shadow children following him, and he's looking noticably frazzled. If one were to look at his collar, it's extremely light in color, and his wireframe is about half gone, most of the color being concentrated to his torso, getting lighter as it spreads out.

On Thursday, he's holed up in the 81st floor lounge, curled up in an armchair, staring out the windows and occasionally snapping at his shadow buddies, though with less energy.]

Riku 1: Mailroom; Tuesday

[His first piece of mail in 8 months of living in the tower. And it sucked. It was just a simple photograph: a picture of him, Naminé, and Sora on the Islands, before things went bad. But it was wrong.

The more he stared at the picture, the more he was unable to shake the feeling that it wasn't him in the picture. It wasn't him, it was...Riku. It was him, he was Riku.

Right? Right. The tower was playing mind games with him again. Great.

With a scowl, he threw the picture back into the mailbox and slammed it shut.]

R2: Lower Lounge; Monday-Thursday

Go on, shoo.

[Whatever the trio of shadow things he'd managed to pick up were, he wasn't interested in them. They followed behind him everywhere, though two of them fell back temporarily when he turned to shoo them away.

The whispers started on Wednesday. Riku! Why'd you leave us behind?]

Naminé?

[You were supposed to protect us. Me and Sora. Why'd you leave?]

I-I didn't mean to! I'm right here, where are you guys? Are you okay?

R3: Meadow; Wednesday

[So maybe it was stupid to train in the middle of a thunderstorm. That didn't stop him from doing that, especially since the rain and thunderclaps made it easier to concentrate on his moves than the increasingly louder shadow childen, one of whom he was absolutely sure had Naminé's voice.

Not that it stopped them from hanging around him while he sparred invisible opponents. And it was too bad that the Aero spell was completely useless when it came to rain protection.]

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[He comes into the floor while the glamour's down - a film book under one arm, not that there's much point reading until there are letters on the page again.

Of course, the particular voice that's chosen to follow him now is kind of difficult to ignore anyway. It's graven on his soul, humming through the very composition of his body - or at least it would be, if he wasn't film and fluid.

You failed.

It doesn't actually talk much, just hovering at the edge of his senses, silently judging, watching. Every other voice quiets in the presence of it, which is relieving in some ways and even more disconcerting in others.

Asch only wishes he was surprised, after everyone else, that Lorelei would put in an appearance.

And so it takes him a moment, when he glances around, to recognize that there's another isofon on this floor - violet collars aren't too notable by themselves, and his sense of the Seventh Fonon is filled by the ghost of the sentience. Asch's fluid is in better shape than Luke's, though. It's easier for him not to care about what they say, and he's grudgingly stuck around other people for most of the week.]

Not even going to try driving them off, then?

[Lorelei doesn't leave, the ambiguous shadow drifting behind Asch - no gestures or other distinguishing features, because Lorelei never really had a body in the first place. But the sense of it backs away a little, just enough to give him room to breathe.]

[He has to get away from the shadows. They just won't leave him alone.

And worse, one of them spoke with Kairi's voice, effectively piercing his heart.

When he spots his copy in the meadow, Riku charges his way, trailed by a handful of shadow children.]

Riku!

[Please, say something. Distractions would be lovely right about now.]

[Ohey Asch, he was just talking to you. Well, a more shadowy and evil version of you. Something like that.

He straightens up, leaning over the side of his chair when he hears Asch's voice.]

I'm taking a break. There's too many and I've been trying to lose them all day. [One mostly-invisible wireframe hand comes up to cover his face, then up to disrupt the film that makes up his hair.]

Why d'you care?

[Come to train in the rain as well? Silly.

Rep turns when he hears 'his' name, his bangs flopping into his eyes, dropping from a battle stance and pausing to snarl at one of his shadowy barnacles.

Hey, we're your friends, aren't we? I thought you hated the Replica.]

I do, shush already!

[And then louder, to Riku:]

What do you want?

You're not going to get rid of them by just running around like an idiot.

[He's pointedly ignoring your question because he doesn't care. Really. Not a single fuck given.]

They don't like other people much. That's about the only way to drive them off.

[It doesn't matter if his hair's getting sopping wet. Seeing the Replica provides the perfect distraction, even with the voices whispering.

Oh, sure. Go for him. You and I both know he's as fake as you.

Riku, why're you running away? Don't go!

He cringes, shaking his head frantically.]

It's just... good to see a familiar face.

[He casts a wary glance at the shadows.]

So I should hang around other people all the time and they'll keep their distance?

[He considers this for a few seconds.]

I tried that, a couple days ago. They just come back, and then they're even noisier and more irritating than before. Won't even listen to me.

[He's not good at this 'socializing by oneself' thing, okay? He usually just follows Anise or Ion or someone.]

[It's one of the few times she's left Ion, though he's probably with Jonouchi - to go downstairs really quickly and grab a few books so they have something to do other than ignore their shadows. And it's a time that makes her think maybe she should have come out sooner, because Luke doesn't look like he's in the best of shape, and he doesn't sound like it either.

She follows his voice, darting right for him, elbowing the shadows - though her elbows pass right through them - before she launches herself at him and latches onto his waist.]

Luke! Don't listen to them, they're just big meanies!

Maybe it's because you're actually incapable of caring for others more than yourself.

[A bit of disgust, there. Asch isn't much better than one of the shadows himself when it comes to Luke.]

That's not true! I...care about other people. Mother, Guy, Master Van, Ion...um.

[He's ticking them off on his fingers as he goes, stopping at the fifth one. Four is an okay number, right? It's not like he doesn't care about anyone else...he just doesn't care about them enough. Really.

Only he hears the echo as the shadow he's identified as Asch agrees with his tower counterpart. "He's right, you really aren't." And another one chimes in. "Useless and selfish. Too bad you survived instead of him."]

Anise, too, I guess...

And Mother, Van, and Guy can't protect you here, can they?

[Not here, and not from this. Thinking of them would probably summon their spirits to bring further torment, really.]

No...but they would.

[Well, Susanne wouldn't, and Luke doesn't want her in the Tower anyway. And speak for yourself, Luke's already got shadows of both his parents, Guy, his Asch, and most of his travelling party from back home, minus Ion.]

...Don't you--

[He starts to ask why Asch is bothering to hang around anyway, but then changes his mind, pulling himself out of his chair and approaching Asch.]

...Were you going to stay on this floor for a while?

What they would or wouldn't do doesn't matter. You can't rely on what-ifs to keep yourself alive.

[Harsh little bits of wisdom. Asch looks a little startled when Luke gets up and asks his question, but then it's back to irritation again, as he hefts the book he's holding.]

No, I was going to use this to light all the beanbags on fire. What do you think?

I don't know what you're thinking. For all I know, you could've come in here just to bother me.

[Rude, Asch. Maybe he'll ~~try to~~ smother you with one of your beanbags.]

...I was going to ask you to stay if you weren't already. To keep the shadows away.

[ Even within the premise of the lower library, Tear could not escape the shadowy figure that stalked her. Their ghost like appearance already made her uneasy, and the words they were speaking to her only made the situation worse. Tear was currently sitting in a chair Wednesday trying to alleviate the pain that was erupting from her head. The consistent mockings of the voices made it hard for her to eat or sleep. Her guard was always up and the strongest voice of all continued to haunt her with guilt.

In the end, she was trying to at least ignore them for the time being while being rather stiff with her posture. The sound of someone's voice, interrupted her thoughts. The voice did not appear to be whispery or ghost like. It did not belong to one of the shadowy beings, but rather someone she knew. Tear pushed herself up from the chair and moved to the direction of the voice. There were other voices but the human voice was what she heard the loudest of. ]

Edited 2013-08-14 11:33 (UTC)

[Day by day they only seem to grow in numbers or grow more familiar, but all in all they were unwelcome guests and none of them were leaving. It was hard to miss something when you could plainly see them harassing others, and this particular other he has seen since he...didn't make it through the shaft. His name was mentioned before, and Ion spoke kindly of him.]

Luke?

[He was right, right? The blonde paced over to him on the stairs.

"You'll help that stranger over your own sister?" There was a pang of guilt.]

[InuYasha was visbly physically exhausted. Even for a half demon such as himself, he could not challenge the roles of the tower that have been forced upon him. But regardless of his state, something bad was going on and he didn't like it. He at least was able to muster enough strength to some rounds throughout said tower.

"It would be wise to forget, InuYasha. You were never wanted."]

Shove it, monk, [I got things to do.

Or he thought he did. While on the lower levels of the tower he did pick up a familiar scent that belonged to a redhead. InuYasha eventually met up with the scent to, of course, see him plagued with the same damn thing everyone else was being harassed with.]

Hey, dumbass! [InuYasha actually doesn't mind you, Luke. He's just extremely crabby today.] Quit listening to them!

[One of the shadows attempts to grab Anise as she makes her way through them, though its arms go right through the girl. A second one steps back from the crowd, but the others stay close by. Luke himself has his eyes closed and his hands over his ears, though his eyes snap open when he feels Anise's arms around his waist.]

G-get away, I mean it! Leave m--ah...A-anise?

[Okay, calm down, calm down. He drops his hands, but doesn't try to pry Anise from him quite yet. For once, he's glad she's there.]

Yeah, but...you can hear them?

[Depending on how Tear approaches, she might need to dodge at least one flying object, because a shadow suddenly stalks it's way out of a corner of the library, followed by a hardcover book. The book misses by a mile.]

Yeah, you better get out of here!

[Luke was heading up the stairs when he heard his name. Not in an angry tone, so he hadn't done something wrong, but the voice was also unfamiliar. And normal-sounding, unlike his unwanted follower.]

Huh? Hey, you're Ion's friend, aren't you? Uh...

[Sorry dude, can't remember your name.]

[ Tear noticed it briefly but didn't have time to say anything before a hard cover book missed the shadow it was aimed at she dodged it barely with it whipping past her face and into the wall not too far from her. There's a rather tired look on her face when she watched the book slam into the wall and fall to the ground.]

...Luke?

[ Her voice was loud enough to be heard but it sounded uncertain because she was not on the other side yet ]

Excuse me?! Were you talking to me?

[That is not a proper greeting, cat-ears. And it's kinda weird coming from someone that isn't Tear or Asch...not that it's good coming from either of them, either.]

Of course! Who else do you think I'm talkin' to?!

["You don't expect you can justify helping him because you didn't save us.."]

Damn annoyin', voices. [His movement was probably more sluggish than Luke remembers. InuYasha closed the space between them a tad. He didn't bother to make eye contact, instead he looked elsewhere. Him admitting that he was trying to help was something he wasn't capable of doing yet.]

Do you know who's causin' this happen?

...Yeah, it is I guess. Are you, uh...here to train too?

[Awkward yelled questions are awkward. Maybe they should get out of the rain.]

[It's quiet for a few seconds, but no more books come flying by.]

...Tear?

[Didn't you leave? He could've sworn she left weeks ago, but that was her voice, and it didn't sound all weird like the voice he'd been hearing. There's footsteps approaching, and then Luke appears from behind a bookshelf.

This one's a long-haired flavour of Luke, hope you don't mind, Tear.]

...You're back.

[He doesn't sound disappointed, but he's slightly suspicious, since he and the last Tear weren't on very good terms with one another.]

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Never have I wanted to be more alone

[Lukes in lounges] [whoops TLDR]

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Luke, lower library, Wednesday

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lower library ; wednesday

Stairs

Library : Tuesday // in;b4 Jou is also Tues

Re: Luke, lower library, Wednesday

Re: lower library ; wednesday

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