four.

[sicharia]

Characters: Claudia Hortensia & OPEN
Setting: Floor 82, Floor 7, Floor 48, the stairs outside Floor 27, Floor 3, Floor 82 again, & choose your own adventure.
Format: Brackets preferred
Summary: Candy-hunting catch-all post
Warnings: Will add as necessary

I. Sunday - Floor 82
[Well... That was unexpected. Claudia, mask removed, stands alone in the ballroom that makes up this floor, a small bag held in her hands. She rifles through it, but she finds nothing of particular note; it's just more candy.]

[Then who, exactly, was that person? What was that all about?]

[She decides to go through with her seep of this floor as she had intended to, before the interruption. But, really, it's less about finding candy now and more about try to see if there's anything else to be found here that might provide some kind of explanation.]

II. Monday - Floor 7
[Claudia doesn't want to swim, but that doesn't mean she's going to ignore this floor. So today, rather than checking the pool itself, she can be found rifling through the lockers. In both locker rooms, actually, because she's completely ignoring the genders they're labeled with.]

[No biggie.]

III. Tuesday - Floor 48
[This seems like a natural place to search, given her job as a gravekeeper, so Claudia makes her sweep of this floor at the same time she performs her duties. At first she thinks nothing of it when she leans down to retrieve the chocolate roses lying across one of the graves, but then her eye happens to glance the name engraved there, and she frowns.]

[Aoi Tohsaka.]

[Surely... It must be a coincidence. She tells herself that, but she still finds herself lingering, her brow furrowed.]

IV. Wednesday - Outside Floor 27
[Claudia doesn't actually set foot on the laboratory floor. Instead, she lingers outside it, on the stairs, seeming uncertain of what to do. She could search this one. It probably wouldn't be too dangerous, provided she doesn't put her hands in anything they shouldn't be in. But...]

[But she can't bring herself to step forward, so she's stymied.]

V. Thursday - Floor 3
[Claudia doesn't intend to go searching for candy today! She's gathered quite a bit over the last four days, after all, and she thinks she's earned a break. So, this afternoon, she can be found in the library rather than roaming the Tower, quietly reading a book.]

[...The feeling that she should keep looking is nagging at her, though, so she's a little more unsettled and agitated than she'd like to be on her "day off." She's trying not to let it get to her, but the feeling probably comes across in her demeanor more than she would care for it to...]

VI. Friday - Floor 82
[For the third time, she's come to this floor, and for the third time, she's encountered that person. She doesn't know anything more than she did the first time; they said nothing to her even when she tried to speak to them. Truthfully, she feels rather frustrated. Mask discarded, she doesn't even bother to check the inside of the bag this time, scowling at the empty air.]

VII. Whenever, Wherever
[Other than the prompts given above, Claudia will be investigating the following floors on the following days:

Sunday, afternoon to evening: 101, 100, 99, 96, 94, 93, 88, 87, 86, 83, 81, 1
Monday, morning to noon: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21
Tuesday, afternoon to evening: 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 60
Wednesday, afternoon to evening: 82, 21, 22, 25, 28, 19, 18, and most of the others she searched on Monday
Thursday, throughout the day: None! She can be found around Floors 1, 3, and 101 at various times, however.
Friday, afternoon: 62, 40, 39, 38

So if you'd like to run into her on any of these floors, have at it.]

Comments

floor 48 (hiatus what hiatus)

[puppy_lancer]

[Lancer looks curiously over at Claudia, seemingly rifling for something next to a grave.]

...Did someone get buried alive again?

[sicharia]

...Ah?

[She hadn't even noticed Lancer, as preoccupied as she was.]

Again?

[puppy_lancer]

Yeah, Enoch got buried alive once. For not coming to his job.

[sicharia]

Oh.

[Duly...noted...]

Not that I know of?

[puppy_lancer]

Mm, that's good.

Then, what's going on with that grave?

floor 27

[fionnuisce]

[When it occurred to him that someone was nearby, Waver paused in his work--which today seemed to involve less direct work and more careful analysis and rewriting of notes in some form or another. Nothing he'd felt indicated a threat, so the magus hadn't exactly leapt to attack. Instead he simply looked up, glancing around until he caught sight of Claudia.]

What brings you around here? [Noting her apparent unease, Waver stood up and crossed to the stairs in a few casual steps, hands at his sides rather than at his pockets; since Claudia was no open threat, there was no need to have the Mystic Code in his coat pocket ready to attack.] Is there something wrong?

[sicharia]

Oh, I just...

[For a second, she seems to debate how to answer the question. Then, she smiles, the expression a little rueful.]

I'm looking for something. That's all.

[fionnuisce]

I don't think I've noticed anything out of place around here today... [Waver looked over his shoulder, half-expecting to see whatever Claudia was looking for had simply escaped his notice. No such luck, apparently.] While I doubt I'll be all that helpful, what was it you were after?

[sicharia]

You didn't happen to receive a note beside your bed a few days ago, did you?

[She answers his question with one of her own. If he did, she'll leave any candy in the lab to him—not just because of her aversion to the floor, but because she suspects it's important for others to have their own stock as well.]

[fionnuisce]

I can't say that I did. Has Ruana started her usual nonsense?

[About time. Waver noted be probably should have expected she'd start playing games around a holiday.]

floor 27

[pinnaculum]

[Of course, Sephiroth is still interested in the laboratory, even if it doesn't tell him much and he knows the instruments aren't genuine. But he does like to run experiments. For instance, looking at tissue samples he's gathered through the microscopes...

Which is exactly what he's doing when he senses someone nearby and makes his way to where Claudia hesitates. He looks at her blankly, and his voice is toneless when he speaks, as if he doesn't recognize her (although he does).]

Hello. May I help you?

[sicharia]

[Finding Sephiroth here doesn't make her reason for shying away from the floor any less distinct in her mind. She doesn't hold any grudge against him—it wasn't his fault, and he's only a child—but still, his presence makes her feel more ill-at-ease. Mentally, she chastises herself, making herself smile down at him.]

Hello, Sephiroth. No, I'm just passing through. What are you doing?

[She speaks kindly, as usual. She notices that his demeanor is—off, which could contribute to her feelings of wariness, but Sephiroth is an odd child, and she doesn't want to rush to assume anything.]

[pinnaculum]

I am thinking.

[It's a simple enough answer, if not particularly illuminating.]

I was researching, also, but this equipment is not reliable.

[So why was he using it to research? Maybe to have some task to occupy himself with.]

floor 7

[chainsawn]

[ It's okay even if you're in the male locker room, Claudia. In fact, Urotsuki is presently standing in there as well like it's no big deal. Whether she's aware of the fact is another matter entirely, but when she sees Claudia enter it, she doesn't seem to make a fuss out of it either. Instead she just watches her with her usual blank gaze, blinking slowly. ]

[sicharia]

[Claudia almost starts a little when she notices Urotsuki. Naturally, her first thought is to wonder what she's doing in the men's locker room. A young, vulnerable girl shouldn't be in here!!!!]

[Basically, Claudia is a big hypocrite.]

...Ah, Urotsuki, hello! [She smiles as she greets her, though.] What are you doing in here?

[chainsawn]

I wanted to swim. So I'm going to change.

[ Her tone is the same as usual - blank, maybe even a little airy - but that's only what makes it more ridiculous in this situation, huh. Since she seems to find it a very normal thing to do that here in the guys' changing room. ]

.. Did you want to come swim too..?

[sicharia]

Ah, but... Urotsuki, this is the men's locker room... [She points it out gently.] If you want to change and swim, you should go to the women's. I'm just here to look for something.

Floor 82 I SHOULD SAY...

[god_damned]

[ Kirei is still learning the Tower, and each of its floors presents an entire world within them. He is unused to curiosity, and he finds himself wandering, drawn to exploring what the Tower has to offer. Usually, he would consider it precaution: it is logical to know his own surroundings. However, he feels like he's looking for something in particular... although he cannot name it.

That is when he finds himself here, in the ballroom, and there is an unmasked figure at its center.

He approaches her in slow strides. His voice may give him away, despite the mask he obliging kept since it was placed on him at his arrival -- unless some unknown magic conceals him otherwise. ]

What are you doing here?

WHICH DAY THOUGH

[sicharia]

[Masked or unmasked, Claudia should instantly recognize Kirei—but, of course, these aren't ordinary masks, so she doesn't. Even his voice is indistinct. It's bizarre, being approached like this, and considering the run-in that occurred just a short while earlier, a faint frown crosses her face.]

Looking for candy. [She doesn't think twice about giving the explanation. From the way this figure addresses her, it seems to be someone she knows, but...] But, I'm sorry— You'll need to take your mask off.

I CAN'T EVEN EDIT PROPERLY i meant it for friday.......

[god_damned]

[ Her response puzzles him for a moment. It seems there is more magic to this place than he initially believed. ] Isn't it early for that yet?

Do you not recognize me?

[sicharia]

No. I need to stock up.

[She answers immediately, rather than circuiting around the issue by explaining the terms of the game as she knows them. Again, though, she thinks nothing of it, as she has no reason not to be honest.]

I don't. I don't think I can, unless you take that off.

Floor 48

[vermicompost]

[Kariya isn't at Aoi's grave, but he's at Sakura's, which is close enough to Aoi's that he sees her approach. He's sitting, not standing, near the grave: a pale, withered figure in dark clothes. He's not particularly noticeable, so it's likely she doesn't see him until he finally rises painfully to his feet and starts toward her determinedly.]

[sicharia]

[Claudia's covered eye and her focus on her immediate surroundings don't make her chances of spotting him any higher, and she does indeed overlook him at first. She doesn't even notice him immediately after he has risen, in fact, as preoccupied with her own thoughts as she is. Finally, though, she glimpses movement from the corner of her good eye. When she spots him, she automatically stands a little straighter.]

Ah, Kariya! I didn't realize you were there. [She feels a little sheepish saying it, and she offers him an apologetic smile.] How are you feeling?

[vermicompost]

Yes. I'm here!

[He announces this with a little wave, though he feels melancholy, as he always does when visiting Sakura here.]

I'm fine, really.

[He automatically says this, regardless, so it's not the best indicator of how he's actually feeling. Regardless of how he's feeling, once he's close enough, he tries to give her a hug.]

Especially now that you're here. How about you?

[sicharia]

[She understands, really, about saying he's fine regardless, and that understanding makes her hesitant to press. She accepts the hug when he reaches her, both her arms coming around him in kind. She leans up and kisses his cheek.]

I'm all right. [She means it, more or less. She can't think of any particular complaints. Her first impulse is to ask what he's doing, but really, the floor makes it kind of obvious.] Though maybe I'm a little better now that I've run into you, too.