Vandesdelca Musto Fende ◊ "Van Grants" (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gloryseizing) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2013-09-16 10:56 am
gloryseizing) wrote in towerofanimus2013-09-16 10:56 am
first chord: your messiah was never mine
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..."
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..."
no subject
[He doesn't mean it rudely. It is a simple statement of fact. Though it wouldn't require exceptional powers of observation as the oatmeal is a very clear marker. While he was in line, he saw people who were not new helping themselves to all sorts of different foods, but he had all but been strongarmed into taking this.
He might be able to find some use for the girl, so he smiles kindly.]
I've only just arrived. [He is very calm, for someone so new.] I take it you are familiar with this place, Miss?
no subject
[She smiles back. She's never really seen Van before, and hadn't dwelt on his image long enough the few times she's seen memories of him for his face to be immediately recognizable. There's something vaguely familiar about him - she thinks he has eyes sort of like Tear's, but it's been so long since her meeting with the Fonist (and she hasn't run into the newer Tear yet) that she can't really be sure.
It's better to be polite than to jump right into hostilities based on suspicions, she thinks, but she'll be cautious.] It's been eight and a half months since I first woke up here. I'd hope I'm familiar enough with it by now.
no subject
[Eight months is a long time. He gives the girl a once-over before nodding. Yes, he decides, she may very well be useful. For someone so young to have survived here for so long, she must have some sort of skill he can use.]
As someone who has been here for more than eight months, what sort of advice would you have for someone who has just arrived?
no subject
So this is him. She looks at him again, and this time, thee is a sort of faint recognition in her eyes. A memory of him standing over - not her, Asch, but she saw the memory from his point of view. The angle is different now that she looks at him head-on, but now that she's made the connection he's recognizable enough.
Her hand curls tightly around her fork, but she is careful to keep her expression polite and her voice even.] Commandant Grants is sort of a mouthful. Do you mind if I just call you Van?
[Then she sets the fork down and brings both her hands up so that she can rest her chin on them as she considers the subject of advice.] The people in charge around here are much more powerful than I would have thought imaginable. They don't like it when people challenge their authority, so it's best to keep your head down. [And then she smiles.] And the others who are stuck here with us are really sick of schemers by now. I'd advise everyone who was new here to not pull anything. [She meets his eyes briefly.] We've all been in the same boat for so long that we're very protective of each other, you see. I know I wouldn't just stand by if someone did anything to someone I care about.
[It would sound like a warning, except she's smiling, so the severity of it is somewhat lessened.]
no subject
If that is easier for you to remember.
[Perhaps this is a good thing. She seems to be far from spineless and he will need people who can stand up to hardship. It is only a matter of figuring out what makes them tick and how to best nudge them into doing the things that he wants them to.
...oh ho. For this girl, it seems all he will need to do is to convince her that her friends will benefit from doing what he says.]
That is sound advice. Thank you for your input. [He probably won't follow it, but now he knows what sort of a front he should be putting out there.] Where were you taken from, Sheba? You seem to recognize my title. [And she is dressed like a Fonist. There are plenty of people from Auldrant that he hasn't met in spite of his extensive travels. This girl may be one of them. Now, did "Sheba" mean anything in Ancient Ispanian? He'll have to think on it.]
no subject
[Yeah, she's never calling him by his title. That implies some sort of respect for him that Sheba simply doesn't possess.
At his question - and his observation - she starts. Had the recognition really been that obvious? She knows the names of some cities and towns in Auldrant and could probably pass herself off as coming from there, if she wants to keep the real reason she recognizes him hidden. She's not entirely certain she wants to just broadcast to Van that Asch is here, and multiple Lukes, and others who he's harmed in some way.
But she doesn't feel right pretending to be from Auldrant, so she just smiles.]
Oh, no. It's just that there are similar titles on the world I come from... it's been a long time since anything reminded me of that.
no subject
[He wonders if she is lying to him. That she is not from Auldrant doesn't feel like a lie, but he can't shake the feeling that she knows him from somewhere.
...if she has been here for eight months, perhaps she is acquainted with people from Auldrant. That makes him consider her earlier advice in a new light, and after a moment of this consideration, he nods. Perhaps that had been more warning than advice.]