first chord: your messiah was never mine

[gloryseizing]

Characters: Van Grants and you poor unfortunate souls.
Setting: The cafeteria, the library, and the cathedral.
Format: I am equally comfortable doing either. I'll start with prose but will follow the format you reply with.
Summary: The Tower has pulled in another arrival from Auldrant. He doesn't seem too upset about being here.
Warnings: It's Van. He won't be outwardly hostile unless you're part of the Abyss party or are hostile to him first, but he can escalate things very quickly if need be.

Floor 001 Cafeteria.
Some people pitch a fit when they see the oatmeal. Some put off eating for as long as they can. Van takes neither course of action and simply brings his bowl to a table, sits down, and begins eating.

It isn't very tasteful, but he has had far worse. Most importantly, it's sustenance.

If he is to undertake the task of familiarizing himself with the Tower, then he must have energy. That means he must eat.

He has no hint of the air of a frightened new arrival with him, though the oatmeal clearly marks him as new. He doesn't seem to opposed to company, either. He meets people's eyes as they walk through the cafeteria and acknowledges them with a nod.

(There is no point in being dismissive of these people just yet. He might find some use for them.)

Floor 003 Library.
He isn't sure what he expects when he steps off the staircase. On the one hand, their hosts claimed to have rescued them. Their library, then, may contain useful information.

On the other, if the letters are a lie and this isn't as it seems, he can be assured that he will find absolutely nothing that is worthy of his time here.

There is only one way to find out. He walks through the library, examining the spines of books on as many shelves as he can find. Occasionally he strokes his goatee in thought, as if imagining how he may use some meaningless information in one book to combine it with meaningless information in another to create something meaningful.

Floor 013 Cathedral.
This cathedral pales in comparison to Daath.

He is at the back of the cathedral now and he could almost swear that he hears mumbling, though the place seems mostly empty. It seems to be coming from the front, and so he walks to the altar. His frown, only slight at first, deepens when he reaches the head of the cathedral and everything is silent.

He retreats to the back and hears the mumbling again.

"How very curious..."

Comments

[keybearer]

Let's just say me and those admins don't see eye to eye.

[There's a short pause, and his expression sours.]

Well, most of them, anyway. The kid-- Zo, he's not so bad. Seems like one of the few administrators who at least tries to treat us like guess instead of labrats. Haven't seen enough of Riki to judge, but Jason and Ruana are easily the worst of the bunch.

[He leans forward, rolling his eyes.]

Let's just put it this way: Jason sees us all as lab specimens and Ruana's obsessed with sick excuses of "games" that usually end up getting us killed.

[Actually, both of them cause their share of gruesome deaths. That's probably the worst part.]

[ambassadorasshat]

As well as I can be, around here.

[Too much death. And the admins. Especially Ruana, he has a special hate for Ruana.]

I've been trying to train...oh hey, did you know Asch is here, too?

[Because he doesn't know that Van's met the other two redheads.]

[queensgeneral]

"Fiction books? Do you read a lot?"

He was just trying to understand what this man was doing. Darres would be more than happy to help him.

[woodpeckermaruta]

"It's nice to meet you," he speaks with a polite tone, giving a faint tilt of his head to the title.

He pauses to watch in amazement at how easily the man eats the food. Tilting his head to the side as he looks away a bit, he props his chin on his hand. A curious expression rests on his face. How long... has he been here? He's been telling everyone two months, to keep it simple--rather than stopping to actually count the days.

"Since August eighth. It's towards the end of September, now... so," he says before pausing for a couple of seconds, "...almost two months."

[desireforchange]

The redhead has no idea what Van might try. Really, he just wanted to establish that he isn't going to let Van get away with hurting anyone--aside from the Administrators, of course. Even Luke is ready to fight some of them (some, since he has no idea how good or evil a couple of them are). Scratching the back of his head, he lets out a sigh. Maybe his bitter feelings are affecting his logical thought, at the moment. Either way, Van had lost pretty much every bit of Luke's trust, at this point.

So, even knowing Van is smart and would probably be one of the first to figure a way out of here, he has no intention of working with him.

"I'm not doing anything on my own. My friends and I will being working together to figure out a way out of here."

His words hold no bite to them. He's done lashing out, after all. Putting a hand to his forehead a moment, he closes his eyes. Reopening them, he tilts his head just a bit and speaks in a low tone, "Not that we'll be returning to the same Auldrant..."

tag is all kinds of late. Sorry ;o;

[melodyoftheabyss]

Tear knew that he wouldn't take her words seriously and she didn't argue to it. Van was someone who always seemed impervious to her, but even so, he was still human and her brother. She stilled worried over his well being whether he needed it or not. They may have been on two different ends of the spectrum with common goals, but they were still blood and that was why it was her duty to eventually end what was happening in Auldrant.

"They are strong, Van."

She had never doubted the abilities of her companions. Luke had already told her the outcome and she already learned that his end was something that could not be avoided. Eventually, when she returned, she would have to proceed to stop him from his goals, but that was Auldrant. She also didn't doubt her brother's strength, having Lorelei inside him and being able to utilize Lorelei's power as his own. She knew all that, yet she could not forget the conversation she had with Luke.

"It is good to know that you understand, brother."

She replied nodding her head to his words. She knew Van was not a fool. He was right, they shared a common goal, "I will make certain that we will not act rashly in this situation. It is pointless to fight amongst ourselves, when there is a bigger issue at hand."

Tear certainly hoped that her companions would see eye to eye with her. Van may have been an enemy from Auldrant, but they weren't in Auldrant at the moment.