This is hardly as fun as playing Candy Crush

[provenworth]

Characters: Elena & Open
Setting: Throughout the Tower during the Event
Format: Will match yours
Summary: Catch-all for the "If You Won't" Event
Warnings: Collecting all the candy, feels, and more! I will update anymore content warnings as they happen.


[October 20th – Graveyard | OPEN TO ALL]

[If there was one lesson Elena remembered from her previous time in the Tower, it was that when it was suggested you do something, you did it. Because while there was sure to be repercussions for engaging in the action, not engaging would be far worse. And so she’s very calculating of her search, scanning all areas of randomly selected rooms before searching in narrow crevasses and any hard to reach place. And so far she’s been very lucky in her search, her candy collection growing.

Though…why again did she think it was a good idea to check a graveyard for candy? Oh, right. Because it was coming close to Halloween. Footsteps take her past several graves, eyes reading the names of the fallen. Lost? Fully-dead? More names become familiar, ones uttered on the network about going missing or being fully gone. On one she’d found a little meringue ghost, the irony not escaping her at all. It’s when she comes closer to a familiar row that she stops between a pair of gravestones and just stares.]

….Fuck you Ruana. [The words are a barely whispered hiss, her curious, neutral expression darkening.] That’s not funny.

[Moving forward towards the row of gravestones she’d mentally renamed as Gaia Row, she passes by several familiar names. Reno. Rude. Tseng. Rufus. The whole ShinRa family, lined up in a row. But that wasn’t what had made her stomach sink. It was the pair of chocolate roses resting across the grave of one Cloud Strife. They had made a very amiable connection during his stay in the Tower, working together to keep an eye on Reno, make sure that his head stayed on straight and his nose stayed out of trouble.

Squatting in front of the gravestone, fingers lightly lifted the pair of roses, one after the other, and dropped them into the little bowl she’d found on her bedside. Giving a little sigh, she reached out and brushed pads of her fingers against the etched name, giving the top a little pat as she stood.]

I'll bring you some real ones soon. [Her eyes moves to the rest of the gravestones.] All of you. Promise.


[October 21 - Floor 38 Lounge | OPEN TO ALL]

[Candy collecting was rather hard work, especially in the tower. She had taken a break in the lounge after finding three pieces of blue cotton candy, picking one of the numerous chairs and dragging it closer to the window to look over the scene below. The open fog, the clouds. It could have been a tranquil place to stay if one didn't know that the Tower was on its last legs and their entire environment could shatter around them.

Elena is curled up in the chair, her back pressed into a corner of the wingback, legs hanging over the arm, left foot bouncing to a tune in her head. She would relax here for just a few more moments before going back to the hunt. She didn't want to be lacking in candy when shit hit the fan.]


[October 22nd - Floor 53 Classroom | OPEN TO ALL]

[Since when did the Tower have a classroom? Standing in the doorway, Elena gave an uncomfortable cough before entering, a brilliant red apple sitting on the desk. Fitting. Given the fact she had nothing else to wear by her ShinRa Academy uniform, she looked like she belonged.

But there was just something about the silence of the room, of the desks being upside down, that made her skin crawl. It was a pity she couldn't just leave without finishing her search.]


[October 23rd - Floor 88 Bar | CLOSED TO RENO]

[It been a while since Elena had been to this floor - back when it had been run by dual Reno's and there had been alcohol. Oh, how she missed having alcohol. She wouldn't dare drink the random bottle that might be laying around, still full with questionable contents. That was a risk she wasn't willing to take.

The note had been left on Reno's nightstand, a simple message that would only be discerned by another Turk, after ensuring that all other residents had vacated the room.

R
@
13h
F88
E

She wouldn't lie, the temptation to lay on his bed for a few moments, but the risk was too great and she was back on the hunt for collecting candy. As the time for their meeting drew closer, she arrived at the location early, scanning the area first for any candy available and then to ensure there no pesky monsters or curious ears.

Once confirmed, she's eying the pool table. There was time for one round of billiards before Reno showed up, right? Right. Balls are racked and then broken with an audible 'clack', Elena engaging in a solo match against time.]

Comments

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth is familiar with this part of the graveyard as well, although he's most interested in the grave marked with the name of Vincent Valentine. Not that he has failed to notice Mr. Strife's gravestone. He's not sentimental, yet he comes here anyway, now and again, wondering when Mr. Valentine was here and if he might return. If so--what then? He had lied... but perhaps Sephiroth could ask him why he did. He likes evidence. Answers.

He watches the woman at the graves from a distance, quietly, a small figure in dark clothes. He doesn't recognize her. He can't see the candy, so he doesn't understand her gestures. Before she leaves, he approaches, not breaking his silence until he arrives at her side and speaks.]

Did you know Cloud Strife?

[provenworth]

[She really shouldn't linger too long, not with an objective on the mind and the always present risk of being jumped by monster or man, but she can't help but do so. There's a little ache in her heart that's only compounded by the knowledge of what was done to them, what their leaving the Tower had meant.

Ears pick up the faint sound of footsteps approaching her, head lowering. A hand moves to brush at the back of her skirt, a movement meant to look innocent while increasing access to the firearm tucked in the small of her back. Turning her head, it takes her a second to take in the whole image of the person beside her.

Silver hair. Brilliant green eyes. Either Sephiroth was shrunken to an adorable mini-size, or there were two of them in the Tower. And that more than a touch worrisome. But he is a child, so she doesn't remove her weapon, instead placing her hands lightly atop her knees, giving a nod to his question.]

I did. We were friends when he was in the Tower. Did you know him too?

[pinnaculum]

[It's good that Elena doesn't draw her weapon. It inspires Sephiroth to leave his own sword sheathed.]

I knew him at home. Not here.

[Cloud had found him in the ruins of Midgar and had brought him into Edge. But it is likely the Cloud that had been here would not know that. He would have seen him as an enemy. Maybe he had seen him as such, in any case.]

Perhaps he would not have remembered.

[provenworth]

...That's a shame. He was actually very nice.

[More than nice, really. Elena had found a brotherly companion in the ex-SOLIDER, one who understood her concerns about the pair of Renos and Sephiroth. One who had helped to serve as a solid rock under the heavy weight of chaos and confusion.]

Maybe, maybe not. Its hard to tell who remembers what from our worlds when we're brought here.

[pinnaculum]

I do not know if he enjoyed my company.

[In retrospect, it's easy to interpret the reticent Cloud from his world as being willfully standoffish or even scornful. Sephiroth knows that others' emotions are a cipher to him, and he can't guess how Cloud really felt.]

It is difficult to tell, considering the large number of possible worlds. Perhaps our worlds were similar.

I am Sephiroth.

F88 13h

[midgarhorizon]

[Soon enough, the "Raven" drops on to the floor from the stair case, having decided to jump a few steps just for the hell of it. Looking around, he walks by her and to the bar, going around behind it and searching each of the shelves. Things haven't changed much down here, except now it looks abandoned without someone to care for it.

Bent over, Reno rifles through some of the empty bottles, clinking the glass together and knocking against the wood. Most of the stock had disappeared long ago, but one lone, small bottle had survived the passage of time and got missed behind the empties. He usually had some special bottle or something hidden in plain sight in the past, and is unusually pleased to see one is still there.

The bottle's placed on top of the bar, and Reno leans against the top with one elbow. He swore off drinking, but the bottle would be welcome later. Maybe it would ease the near constant nagging and paranoia he felt.

He gets a good look at her for the first time since Sunday, and felt... odd.]

Elena?

[Since when has Reno ever sounded that uncertain?]

Did ya need to see me?

[provenworth]

[Half the balls had been given a home when Raven!Reno enters, Elena bent to sink the 6 ball into the top right corner, eyes snapping up to look at him. Straightening, both hands wrap around the pool stick, a pleased smile on her lips.]

Hey Re...[And he just walks by her, eyes and head following, the smile disappearing.]...no..

[Huh. Well that was certainly out of the ordinary, his walking right past her without so much as a look or hello. She doesn't move from her spot, leaning against the pool stick, eyes focused on his every movement. Either he was a braver soul than she was to trust anything he found there or there was something else going on.

When he finally looks at her, a bottle set in front of him, she gives a concerned frown.]

Yeah, I did. Though I'm starting to think I should have reached out to you sooner. [Because the shift from authoritativeness to unsureness is a dramatic swing for anybody.] I wanted to see how you've been since the notes from Ruana were found. What's your haul look like?

[midgarhorizon]

[Pursing his lips, he's silent for a moment before he answers her.]

Nothing. I'm not doin' it.

[Because he did it last year and that had been terrifying and the fact he'd been under mind control too made things even worse. Ruana could keep her damn games.

But the feeling that something was off with Elena is growing. Something he couldn't quite place yet. She may not have been wearing a costume, but it felt like she should be.]

I'm not playin' her game this time...

[provenworth]

....The hell you're not.

[There wasn't even a need to hesitate before speaking. The pool stick is lifted and roughly laid across the table with an audible 'clack', loafers bringing her closer to the bar.]

This is a Ruana month, Reno. You have to get prepared. Whatever she's got planned, it'll be worse if you do nothing.

[midgarhorizon]

Hey, back off.

[Examining the bottle on second thoughts, he frowns on it. There hadn't been much here when he had started changing from Floor 38 to here, and it has been a long time... was this even the same bottle?

Nah, better not risk it.

At least he can avoid looking at her.]

You know as well as I do if I play her game, she wins by makin' me into one of her toys. Same as I told Shion, win or lose the game, if we play we lose to her. I ain't gonna let that happen. I know the risks. I die, big fuckin' deal.

[His mouth stretches to a long, thin line, cold anger burning away at the paranoia. Before he realizes it, his fist slams into the counter top. He's been so on edge the past few days, so strange and the gnawing feelings eating at him. It couldn't be anything else but Ruana.]

...We're all just fuckin' toys to her, Elena. That's what this's about. Not savin' us from our worlds. She's the one destroying them. Enoch told me and it makes so much damn sense.

October 21, Floor 38

[heavenscorpse]

[This floor is a good place to stop on V/V's way through the tower, searching for candy on the floors least likely to kill her. V/V steps inside before really registering that somebody's already here.]

I'm sorry. Is it okay for me to search here?

[provenworth]

...Mmm?

[Eyes pull away from the wall of glass to the woman in the doorway, foot still bouncing before she turns to sit properly in the chair, feet flat on the carpeted floor. Her hands sweeps across the room, offering a little friendly smile.]

Sure, go right ahead.

[heavenscorpse]

Thank you, miss.

[V/V starts searching under other chairs and objects in the room, though she leaves Elena's alone - that would be rude!]

My name's V/V. What's yours?

[provenworth]

Sure thing...

[Probably not as rude as Elena was being V/V. Elena is busy watching the female out of the corner of her eye, scrutinizing each movement, looking for signs of aggression. The question is a touch unexpected, but easy to respond to.]

Elena. [Pause.] That's an unusual name. Does it stand for something?

[heavenscorpse]

Not really. Lots of people seem to think it sounds weird, but I have other names that sound worse.

[V/V doesn't notice the intense scrutiny - she's both too busy looking for candy and too friendly to really mind being stared at.]

Elena's a very pretty name, though.

Graveyard | finally tagging you:D

[xroyal_bratx]

[ Ishtar dropped a handful of flowers on a nearby grave, not too far from Elena. She stared at it quietly, while keeping her expression neutral. There had been so much pain since she got here and so much sorrow she had to face before turning this way into the hands of the administrators. She didn't even know anymore but at least she had some support now and she wouldn't have to be alone too much anymore.

She caught sight of blond hair and a familiar face that she had not seen in a while. She tilted her head slightly and called out to the young woman. ]

Elena?

OMG YAY!

[provenworth]

[She'd finished up a quiet, mental conversation with Cloud's gravestone and had been turning to head back out when a nearby voice called to her. While the initial instinct was to drop the candy bowl and prepare to defend herself - she'd come across most of the people she knew and were on friendly terms with - it was the fact the voice was female that she hesitated.

And it was a good thing she did, eyes scanning before landing on the small female.]

....Ishtar, right?

<3333 gosh took forever. D: sorrybb

[xroyal_bratx]

[ Ishtar nodded her head. It seemed like Elena was there to see one of her friends too. She didn't see what the name said, but it was fine. She didn't want to be nosy with other people's business. ]

Yeah, Ishtar.

[ She repeated. ]

It's been a while.

No worries, bb

[provenworth]

[Holding her bowl loosely in her hands, Elena padded closer to the raven-haired woman, giving a little nod.]

It has been, yes. I was...home for a while, but the Tower decided it wasn't done with me yet. Have you been well?

[Pleasantries. That's where she'd start. Because Elena did not forget her encounter with Sephiroth that had ended with becoming a Turk-ka-bob and having both Hei and Ishtar finding them. The surprised look on the woman's face had left an impression.]

I mean...as well as one can here.

/o/ yay :D

[xroyal_bratx]

[ Ishtar noticed the bowl, but she's not sure that it was important right now. The other woman looked well, and different from last time. ]

The tower keeps sending people away more than it should.

[ She nodded her head. She was as well as she could be. The encounter last time with Sephiroth didn't turn out well. She's still not sure how the outcome came to that. Either way, she looked well enough. Ishtar never asked about that day, and Hei wasn't around anymore for her to interrogate him about such things. ]

I've been well enough, yeah. I think that's the word.

[ She offered her a small smile. ] Are you well?

Graveyard - I hope this is okay? /o\

[justabignobody]

[Riku usually avoids this floor, he knows what he's fighting for - who he's fighting for - he doesn't need the reminder, but... given the time of the year, and given just who has disappeared from the Tower in the last few weeks (Kairi... Yu...) it seems appropriate, to drop by, to look at the names and remember just how many of them have come by and been send away again.

(So many... way too many... all in danger of being preyed upon by Ruana...)

There is so many graves to visit - Other!Sora, Other!Xion, Ven, Roxas, Terra, Yu, Kairi (and he throws a courtesy glance at Axel's) - all come by (some more than once even) and all gone again. He then stops at the grave proclaiming Master Xehanort... now there is one person he is glad is gone; it's not like there isn't already enough people trying to manipulate things to their favor as is.

He tears his eyes away from that grave to go look for other familiar ones, first frowning, then smiling when he catches the scent of a familiar heart. Chances are that she isn't the same as the one he's known, the one he's asked to take care of Xion in Reno's stead, but he still moves to greet her as if she is, because if she isn't... then well... he'll find out in a second.]

...Hello, Elena.

This is wonderful yes!

[provenworth]

[Elena had moved, inching down to the tombstone with Reno's name on it. Rusty. That's how they'd differentiated between the pair of Reno's. He'd been something so totally different from the other, a creature she had just barely begun to figure out before he had been taken away. In the quiet of her mind she'd been asking for his guidance, for his help in dealing with the Reno left behind - the one who struggled so hard for all their sakes, no wanting to accept any help.

Footsteps rouse her from what might have looked like a moment of peaceful sleep, eyes opening as her head turns to look at the approaching figure. It takes her a minute to recognize the face, but the voice helps jar her memory.]

....Riku. Its been a while.

Yay!

[justabignobody]

Yeah.

[He does look a little different from her last stay probably; his hair is cut short now and his cloths have changed. Still, there is a tiny smile settling on his face when he realizes what her greeting implies.]

So you remember your last time here? [It's not really a question, so...] I'm glad to hear.

[provenworth]

[He certainly does, which only adds to the feeling that she's missed so much in her absence.]

I can't decide if that's a good thing or not, to be honest. [A corner of her mouth quirks into a slight grin.] You look like you're doing well.

[justabignobody]

[Well, she is back now at least; her and not a copy from yet another alternate universe.]

Given what Ruana is planing to do with the people trapped in their homeworlds, I'd actually call it a good thing. [Because at least here they can band together and fight back.] Thanks. I guess, I am.