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 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?

[justabignobody]

[Riku isn't Riku as far as he is concerned - he isn't his double, he'll never be, just like his double will never become him either, not considering how different their experiences are.

(His double has never felt betrayal like he has, or has had to realize that he himself has become the betrayer, has never lost control of his own body and shunted from it into the deepest dark. He's never been to Castle Oblivion, has never faced Zexion or been saved by Naminé, has never found the Road To Dawn. In some ways Riku is glad that his double hasn't had to. But in other ways he is even more glad that he himself did.)

He takes a step towards her, frowning at the castle for a second before he nods.]

Yeah... I got lost in the basement for a while.

[It's hard to believe that it's been over two and a half years since that. ...And that he's spent the better part of that time in the Tower.]

[humility]

Basement? [there's a little surprise; she hadn't had any idea how much her home would and could change after she sealed it.] ...I never got a chance to see much of it.

[a moment's silence, then, quietly:] Not like this, anyway.

[justabignobody]

...Not like this?

[He shoots her a puzzled look - had Castle Oblivion been different at a time? - before he takes a step towards the viewfinder, expression turning a little more unreadable as he drifts down the memory lane.]

There isn't much to see. Thirteen floors of nothing but stairs and white hallways. And well... there's the memory rooms inbetween.

[humility]

[they're drifting parallel, then. her expression is dark, and she's uncomfortable silent for a long moment as she stares at the image of the castle; her brow is furrowed in thoughtfulness, but the curve of her frown is simply sad.]

...It was my home. [she admits it slowly, then waves a hand dismissively.] A long time before it was white and blank. The 'memory rooms' are part of the, mm. Defense, is the best way to put it. [she hugs herself then, feeling very small and not understanding why just yet.] I had to seal the whole world away, until I. Got back.

[justabignobody]

[His eyes widen slightly - that's definitely new to him. He hadn't thought that Castle Oblivion could have been any different than what it is now at any time... though admittedly, he's never given it much thought at all.

Now he wonders though...]

...Why did have to you seal it away?

[humility]

[she tilts her head, still staring at the viewfinder, as she considers how best to answer that.]

...Because there would be no one left to protect it. It was a rare world, balanced almost perfectly between light and dark. It could be easily exploited without anyone to fight for it.

[strength seeps out of her and her posture visibly relaxes out of sadness more than anything else.]

I also had to protect the person I left inside.

[justabignobody]

[He nods lightly, he's already known that Castle Oblivion is neither of the Realm of Darkness nor of Light, that it's somewhere in between both - that is why he's been able to escape there from the Darkness after all. As for it being exploited, well...

Well, that considering that the Organization had abandoned it now, it doesn't matter anymore. The next thing she mentions is news to him however, as probably obvious from his frown.]

The person you- Then the castle isn't entirely abandoned?

[Because that's what he's thought it was right until the start of this conversation, an abandoned castle the Organization had found and used to their own ends, that Sora and he had liberated, that was now occasionally used by himself and maybe DiZ to hide out in, even with the risk of an Organization member straying back (like Axel, like Roxas, like Xion).]