towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Anyone and everyone
Setting: Cafeteria, Noon, Nov 7th
Format: Anything
Summary: A party/discussion mingle after calling a meeting of the residents.
Warnings: tba

The anonymous post on the network was an invitation to gather, discuss and share information. Maybe they would get incredibly lucky and get to the bottom of things, such as who was behind the bombings or the strange things that went on during Quarantine.

Someone has been at work down here in the dining hall, moving the tables around to create a space in the middle in case people felt like dancing. Most of the chairs are around the outside and facing the middle, for everyone to see each other better. There was another space and some chairs for musicians, and a couple of the larger tables were set up with a large buffet of normal cafeteria food (because Zo wasn't likely to poison them) and resident prepared dishes, both clearly marked.

Of course, there was always the oatmeal.

[ooc: Feel free to make your own threads and subthreads!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Indeed, after a few seconds she does look around and see him. Her soft smile turns within a few seconds to recognition, then into a scowl, and after a few seconds her head jerks away. After a few seconds, she adds just one more thing.]

He came back, you know. A lot of them did.

[Her family was back. Reno and Elena both. See, she was right to not give up.

There was something off though. Something really different. She wasn't blind. She wasn't sure what was though, and until then she was going to treat it he was still just as likely to bother her as last time.]

Edited 2013-11-08 22:39 (UTC)

[Rick was honestly considering the possibility that she might react with violence once she recognized them, so in some senses he's relieved. But her actual reaction still stings with the same pain of several months ago, having woken up after his possession and realizing what he'd done--the same pang in his chest, violent choking of his lungs, like a shock suddenly run through his heart. He thought he'd wrapped up all of those loose ends, and it had been so long ago...the fact that he's forgotten hits him almost just as hard as the act itself. He doesn't even remember the names of the people he had used against her.]

[Too overwhelmed to run away, Rick visibly deflates, slumping into his chest with a tired sigh. What could he possibly do? Was it even worth trying at this point, after she's had so long to fume and spite against him? How absolutely pathetic would he sound if he fell into his usual routine of stammered apology?]

[He draws a blank. But instinct pulls different words from him, murmured at the floor: ]

...I-I'm...glad.

[There's no way he could know, but there hadn't been too much stewing or seething. Maybe some, in the quiet moments where she'd wondered or worried and remembered the things he'd said. But things move ever onward in the Tower, and she'd come out of their encounter relatively intact, enough that distractions were more than enough to compensate.

Still, that... hadn't been the reaction she was expecting. Truth be told Xion isn't sure what she had expected. Just... not that. There's something in his whole voice and demeanor that's so different, too.]

You are?

[She's puzzled and confused and maybe a little wary]

[Rick chances a look up, hesitant but hopeful. He has to be careful.]

...N-No one...d-d-deserves to l-lose the...the p-people they l-love. [His eyes crease into the slightest of nervous smiles.] ...I-I'm happy t-to know that...th--that they're s-s-safe.

[Xion still watches him warily, half-expecting this to be some kind of act or trick. But he seems sincere. It's really jarring.]

Yeah. [beat] You're... different now.

[He nods numbly.]

I, ah...w-w-wasn't m-myself, then.

[Xion bites her lip. This was going to get very complicated on an emotional level soon enough she could tell.]

What do you mean? Was it the Tower?

["The Tower" being a blanket term for monsters, admins, and other things that might pull someone out of their right mind]

[More nodding, before Rick suddenly cuts in: ]

--I-It was--a r-r-really s-stupid thing I did, and--i-it d-d-doesn't e-excuse my a-actions. I'm sorry...it's s-s-still my f-fault.