in which a girl of discipline makes order out of chaos for herself - BACKDATED

[humility]

Characters: Aqua! and whoever you deign to throw at her! (castmates with no CR yet - LET'S GO! 8D)
Setting: various! BACKDATED TO FRIDAY
Format: i prefer action/brackets, but i'll follow you!
Summary: when in doubt, fall back on discipline. make routines.
Warnings: none now, will edit as needed



[ CAFETERIA ]

[it hadn't taken long for the Tower to assign her to a job in the kitchens: baking. she would have been happy about it; it's an activity she enjoys and hadn't been able to indulge in for many years, and it's a productive if small way of helping the other residents.

...unfortunately, the Tower's idea of baking is less fun and homey and more industrial and dangerous. why she's surprised, Aqua's not even sure.

still, before the terrifying time to put things in the oven, Aqua at least has a little time and materials to be creative. she's forgotten some things, but luckily there have been plenty of cookbooks in the library to look through. her hands, however, have miraculously not forgotten important motions - kneading and twisting. the satisfaction of pulling beautifully glazed rolls and braided loaves out of the oven is a thrill she'd long missed.

would you like a lesson?]



[ FLOOR THREE LIBRARY ]

[there's a large pile - wait, no, several piles of books neatly stacked and separated by topic next to the sofa that Aqua is now comfortably sitting on, legs tucked primly underneath her.

one hand is curled in front of her mouth, and a slight frown creases her brow as she reads with what must be much concentration. it seems to just be a cookbook, specifically about baking, but every once in a while she gasps, or her cheeks flush with excitement and she smiles with anticipation.

maybe it's just the new ideas this book has for breads and sweets?]



[ FLOOR FIVE ]

[well. she found the viewfinder floor.

Aqua's frozen in front of the one to the Land of Departure. of course, it didn't even look as it should when she left it last, having turned into that twisted castle that sucks away one's memory.

she's close enough to the viewfinder that it would be hard for someone to see her face without getting uncomfortably close. should someone do that, however, her expression is almost unreadable, despite the narrowed eyes and fingertips pressed to her mouth. angry? upset? it's hard to tell.

what else is there to say?]



[ FLOOR SEVEN ]

[SWIMMING ANIME

I mean

WATER EXERCISING. ...YEAH. WOO.

come on in and interrupt her. LET'S PLAY GAMES?]



[ FLOOR TEN ]

[oh, nothing special

just standing here, checking out the aquarium with cheeks pink from excitement

experimentally putting her finger, then her hand, then whole arm in the water

nbd]



[FLOOR ELEVEN ]

[after warming up with swimming, it's time for strength and weight training! EVEN A MASTER MUST NEVER STOP TRAINING. really, it's more for a routine in her day than anything, but the familiarity of the exercises in this horrible place is nice, too.

the Keyblade she has isn't her own, but Master Keeper. even if you're not familiar with it, it clearly can't be hers as it's too long and bulky. she seems to have learned to accommodate herself to it and adapted it to her style.

in any case, she's sweating and concentrating, but won't turn away anyone who wants to chat. or learn, even. what are Masters for, after all?]

Comments

Floor 5.

[firstnothing]

Don't let your eyes fool you.

[It's unsettling how silently Xemnas can appear, and how the overwhelming aura of Darkness seems to lag behind his appearance - and the sound of his voice. At least the voice won't be terribly recognizable, the smooth, pleasant baritone the sound version of velvet-wrapped razors. Soft on the surface, but beneath it..

He keeps his hood up this time. It's a deliberate choice.]

The senses are easily tricked in these environs. It shows you what you do not wish to see. Others call it proof that what was, is lost. They forget all things here are illusion and deception.

[He didn't linger the last time he'd encountered Aqua. Something chewed at the back of his mind, constant and insistent that she looked familiar, that he should know her, that Xemnas can recognize her even from behind so easily. But there's no name.

No connection. He doesn't know who she is.]

[humility]

[the sudden voice startles Aqua, and she jumps a little and whips around. if she's honest with herself, the completely alien voice is even more alarming, now that she's identified that heavy darkness and knows the face under the hood is familiar. she hangs back from him uncertainly, and her tone is obviously guarded.]

...That's what I was trying to decide, actually. If all of this Tower is an illusion, including our bodies...

[she shrugs and spreads her hands.]

...then why should I believe this?

Floor 05

[justabignobody]

[Riku is just on his way up from the cafeteria to the hedge gardens where he likes to train when he notices the scent of a familiar light in the air, one htat he hasn't sensed in quite a while. He is almost totally cetain who is going to find when he enters the fifth floor (and he feels the old knot of unease and wariness rise, even though Naminé had declared her trustworthy so long ago, even though this may not be the Aqua that he had met when he's first arrived or even the one he had thought alongside with over half a year ago...), frowning faintly when he spots her.]

...Aqua?

[And then he stops in his tracks when he sees the castle in the viewfinder just past her, recognition obvious on his face.]

That's... Castle Oblivion!?

[It's not really a question, given that he knows the place only too well - he's learned so much there, has lost and gained alike, has sometimes hidden there before he had started to use Castle Hollow Bastion as hideout away from the hideout (for himself and for Xion).

Still it feels like an eternity since he's actually seen it and maybe somewhere he's also wondering... why is it appearing to Aqua?]

[humility]

[when Aqua turns to look at Riku, recognizing his voice, she tries not to show how surprised she actually is when she gets a good look. even though this must be a case of 'multiples' that someone warned her about, it's still alarming the first time - after all, she'd seen a younger looking Riku first.

still. Riku is Riku, as far as she's concerned, so she smiles through the concerned crease in her features.]

...You know that place?

Floor 3

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[That's... quite a lot of books there.]

Uh, h-hello again. I see you found the library.

[humility]

[honestly, she's a little startled - she even turns a little pink and glances away briefly, as if caught at something she shouldn't be doing, before mentally shaking herself and closing the book, one finger on the page she was at. she smiles and unfurls herself to make room for the girl to sit if she wishes.]

It's lovely here. Minus the obvious holes in its catalog, of course. What brings you here?

7

[terra_nullius]

[Ever since that time he'd drowned he'd found out he had an aptitude for swimming somehow... it wasn't quite a muscle memory, but it was definitely something that he could do unconsciously. Xemnas had told him that he should keep up his physical training, and swimming was a fine way to do so... though he kept it to the pool now rather than jumping into the ocean.

He's rarely surprised if someone else joins him, but this time it's someone that he actually knows, and he blinks in surprise, pausing mid-stroke to brush hair out of his eyes and wave.]

Aqua!

[humility]

[it is too obvious that Aqua has an attraction to water? probably. she's already gone through several laps of different strokes, and was just calmly propelling herself through the water, trying to decide which to do next when she heard her name. she hadn't noticed anyone, so she stands up too quickly with a splash, nearly falling face-first into the water again--]

Oh, um-! Hello!

[spectacularly graceful there, Aqua. she flushes with shy embarrassment, pushing some of her hair back.]

I'm sorry, I didn't-- Um. I didn't know anyone was here.

hops aboard the 5 train

[acceptedoblivion]

[Ira rarely visited this floor, mainly because only one place ever appeared for him when he did. He didn't care for it, either, but after the last glamour failure he'd seen that was one of the few things that hadn't changed.

Not that he really cared to begin with, aside from a handful of people who'd died there when he got "saved." Thanks a lot, Zo.

However, when he saw who was there he felt something odd. What was that? One of real thing's memories? ...Not like he could put a finger on what memory that was. And whoever it was, they seemed to be rather focused on some world. Curious, he decided he approached her.]

Doubt staring at the worlds will help y- [Wait... was that-?] Tch. Of all the places...

[Just his luck that someone who stirs those memories would be someone related to Castle Oblivion.]

[humility]

[she turns and looks at him curiously - not the same as the first Riku; he feels very different. still- she watches him, smiling warily.]

I take it you've been there.

Floor 10

[attheclocktower]

[This had been Xion's old haunt for shell-collecting before her current primary location had opened up. She still liked to visit it, for that exact reason. When she spots Aqua there, she can't help but smile]

There's a beach, up on Floor 62. It's not as pretty as Destiny Islands but it's still pretty good.

[Or maybe she just liked the not-walls. Xion had to admit they were pretty cool.]

[humility]

[Aqua hurriedly pulls out her arm, almost embarrassed though she couldn't really say why.]

Destiny Islands is a pretty high standard to begin with, even if it's not a projection.

[she smiles a little and starts drying off her arm with one of her skirts.]

It's pretty nice of the Tower to provide it, anyway. Is it safe, or are there mermaids like at the lagoon?

Floor 11

[scentofmakai]

[Zett has gone through a snap since Aqua met him during the rescue efforts, but he's mostly recovered back to sanity. Mostly.]

That's an interesting weapon.

[He hasn't seen a Keyblade before, but it's obviously a weapon from the way she's swinging it around.]

[humility]

[she lowers it at the sounds of a voice, jumping it a bit in her hand to adjust her grip.]

Hello, Zett.

[she smiles, wiping her bangs out of her eyes, and adjusts her grip on the bulky weapon again as she looks at it.]

You've never seen a Keyblade before?

Floor 11

[earthshards]

[True enough; even if you reach the rank of Master, one never stops learning or training. There's always more to learn, techniques to refine, skills to modify.

Terra almost doesn't want to interrupt. But his gaze has gone to the Keyblade she is using, and his eyes have widened slightly in ... understanding?] So... that's how you survived so long...

[Master Keeper. It was ill-suited to her fighting style - quick, graceful, and acrobatic, but that she had it at all was... a small comfort. She hadn't been trapped with just her magic to defend herself.

Of course, she'd still been a walking target, but it was Aqua. He can only imagine how many of the denizens of that realm were set on fire, encased in ice, or zapped.

So, chiming in a more audible tone-] You look like you could use a training partner.

[humility]

[good timing, she'd been about to do a somersault maneuver-

she stops with a small laugh, wiping a bit of sweat and dirt off her cheek with the back of her hand]


I guess it's fitting that you'd be the first person I spar with.

Floor 3

[historyrabbit]

[Lavi leans on the back of the couch, not directly behind her but off to the right.]

Wouldn't be hiding something behind that cover of the cookbook, would you? [Like a comic book or the like.

It's one explanation at least for her expressions.]

[humility]

[in an instant, Aqua jumps from shock and makes an odd squeaky noise, her whole body tensing. she turns pink, staring at the intruder with a guilty look.]

...It's possible.

[with a shy grin, she pulls a smaller book out from behind the larger cookbook: a fantasy novel of some kind.]

It's very exciting...

Floor Ten

[nordic_dovahkiin]

[Brunwulf's eyes pick out a young girl standing at a tank of fish. A rather strange sight, since there is nothing of the sort back in Skyrim. Fish are allowed to swim free amongst the lakes and seas, not imprisoned within tanks of glass. He makes his way forwards to meet the girl.]

Why are those fish inside this tank of glass?

[humility]

[almost reluctantly, Aqua pulls her arm back and smiles at the stranger.]

It's a sort of...calming thing? It can be very pleasing to just watch fish swim peacefully.

floor 3

[sicharia]

[Well... Claudia doesn't want to interrupt, if she's absorbed in what she's reading with such rapt attention! But she does want to say hello. She has a novel clasped to her chest as she passes by Aqua.]

Hello again, Aqua. How are you settling in?

[humility]

[tucking a finger in her place, Aqua closes the book and looks up with a smile.]

Hello, Claudia.

[untucking her legs, Aqua sits up straight and scoots over to make room should Claudia choose to join her, and holds the book primly in her lap.]

I'm doing what I can to make sense of this place for myself, if I can. Of course, there isn't much point to finding questions to ask if there's no one with answers who can actually be trusted to reply truthfully. Or at all.

Floor 5

[warriorscribe]

*He's about to go up to help with the collar research, or to do what passes for helping, lately. The fatigue and pain of battle has subsided, so while his armor hasn't been restored, leaving him in only his jeans and sandals, he is alert and basically well. So he notices someone at one of the viewfinders rather than trudging on for the sake of science.

He steps off the staircase and approaches the young woman.* ...We can restore them.

[humility]

My question is, though...

[she hasn't turned to the stranger the moment he steps up to her, still transfixed by the image. when she does at last look at him, her expression is grim.]

...are they even really destroyed?

[Floor Three]

[lethechained]

[To say that Naminé frequents the library is probably an understatement. It's one of the most comfortable places in the tower for her aside from her own room. There's always plenty to keep her busy - and keeping busy is definitely something she needs to do.]

[It's sort of jarring, really, when she turns the corner, a book in her arms, and sees Aqua, sitting there reading as if she'd never been gone from the tower.]

[Needless to say, Naminé stops short.]

[humility]

[honestly, Aqua might not have noticed if it weren't for the feeling of a very...unusual mix of light and dark alerting her. she's never felt anything like it, and something about that unsettles her-

but it's just a girl. she looks innocent enough, even a touch familiar though Aqua can't place why. still, she smiles politely.]


Hello.

Cafeteria

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji would much rather just eat the finished product than learn to make it, unfortunately, but at least it got him in here. He was attracted to the fresh smell, and before he could pause to think of being polite, he was left gaping at the variety of loaves, admiring the intricate braiding.

Sorry, but he's zoned out a bit now. He probably wouldn't even notice if someone started staring at him.]

[humility]

[covered in flour all over her face and arms and sweating slightly, Aqua can't help but stand up away from her work and laugh at the admirer.]

Well, it looks like I've gotten some approval already!

Cafeteria

[derping]

[Sora could use lessons in a lot of things, and putting any sort of food together on his own is definitely one of them. It would help him today, at least - he had somehow gotten it into his head to head down to the kitchen, and try to see if there was anything he could put together that wasn't pumpkin-favored.

Even if there was, though, would he know what to do with it? Probably not, but what could it hurt to look?

That's what he's thinking over when he walks to the kitchen...and stops at the doorway when he sees someone familiar. It takes him a minute to be totally sure - it's been a long time since she left - but once he is, he...well, he stands there for a minute, since she looks busy and he isn't sure what to say yet. She might not remember anything.

But that's not going to stop him from asking anyway.]

Aqua?