011 ♃ there was a friend of mine on murder and the judge's gavel fell

[seekinganswers]

Characters: Sheba (seekinganswers) and Sephiroth (neverbeamemory)
Setting: Floor 43, backdated to very late at night on the 19th (because I fail at life and didn't have this up sooner)
Format: Action brackets!
Summary: After having seen him earlier that day, Sheba pays a return visit to Sephiroth in his jail cell. By which I mean she gets chased onto the floor by monsters...
Warnings: Some violence near the beginning of the thread? Possible strong language? Nothing too graphic!

[There is a sharp cry from the floor above - followed by a crash of lightning, and then frantic footsteps. Or at least, they sound frantic. When Sheba comes into view, she looks like she's being chased. She's moving quickly, doing her best to outrun a group of Neoshadows (the exact number is hard to tell, with the way they're shifting and skulking after her, but there's at least thirteen of them now and more trailing down the stairs behind the group), but there's none of the sheer panic that typically comes with a pursuit. Almost a year in the Tower will do that to a person... maybe.]

Sephiroth!

[Though she doesn't look panicked, she sounds panicked enough. Whether that's genuine or for the benefit of any guards that might still be around this time of night - if there are any - is anyone's guess.]

You're still in there, right?

Comments

Later 19/20th November - Cafeteria [Closed: Sephiroth, Sheba, Jin]

[neverbeamemory]

[Neoshadows either fled from or obliterated, Sephiroth would have preferred to retire directly to his Dormitory; he knows he just needed to rest now. That the painful wracking noises of his over-emptied stomach were only a symptom of the fact that his cells hadn't begun their regeneration of it yet. His hunger would fade, as would his thirst once he relinquished his hold on consciousness.

But his little 'rescuer' had insisted that they come down rather than go up. That at least he should get the edge taken off of his dehydration before sleeping, that he should try to even take a small amount of food - just for the energy if nothing else. It was sound logic. It would be just perfect after breaking out of the prison that he would then just die in his bed.

By the time they reach the Cafeteria he nearly falls out of the elevator on shaky legs, grasping for the wall, slipping into the first seat he could get to. Sephiroth holds his hands out in front of his face, and even in the darkness he can see them quivering - lesser so if he stares at them though. He still feels cold and even more on edge in the closed up Cafeteria, flicking his gaze around as if even more Shadows would pop out at any moment.]

[seekinganswers]

Stay there...

[It's not like she really needs to tell him that; where would he even go, with his condition as it is? But she makes sure he is safely in a seat before she looks to the kitchens.] I'll be right back.

[It being as late as it is, she's going to have to either cook or bring him the raw ingredients so he can at least get some food in him. It's probably best to make sure he gets something to eat and drink as soon as possible, so she darts into the kitchen very quickly and returns with a glass of water, some pieces of bread, and some vegetables and sandwich meats. None of them are assembled, but she can do that easily enough once she sets the plate down in front of him and slides the glass to him.]

Drink. Thirst is more deadly than hunger. [That was something that anyone growing up in a desert environment learned. It's been drilled into her from the time she was first old enough to really understand what the people around her were saying.]

[morituramfides]

[It was really just a natural happenstance that Jin happened to be around; his schedule was erratic at best, and timekeeping was not something he excelled at, or even bothered with anymore. He could tell it was night by the collection of monsters, but he didn't particularly care. Whether he died or not was not really the problem.

However, unlike usual nights, where he only encountered monsters or ignored other people in the hallway, there were other people lurking around the cafeteria tonight; he'd watched silently as Sheba rushed in and out of the kitchen (she must have been pretty preoccupied, if he had to guess), and listened for a moment as she spoke to someone else.

A moment or two, and his curiosity (and boredom) got the best of him, and he crept out of the kitchen to glance inquisitively at the two assembled.

At the least, he could deduce that Sephiroth (who he discovered was the other party) looked like crap.]

Yeesh-- what happened to you? You get in a fight with a behemoth?

[Opening to Nesir]

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth remains for the most part glaring at his hands while Sheba goes off into the kitchen, as if trying to make them stop shaking simply from force of will. He imagines this is similar to how being drunk must feel like, except he's fully aware of how labored breathing sounds, how when Sheba returns to the table and slides the glass of water over to him and then speaks the sound seems somewhat muffled. It's a deeper feeling tiredness.

He blinks it back and shakes his head a little before raising his now lowered hand to take the glass as firmly as he can. Ripples of the water inside the glass betraying the shakiness but he does manage to bring it to his mouth at least. Sephiroth takes a small sip only before even registering Jin's presence there - and then the question catches up. He takes a long gulp of the water, before carefully, paying over-attention to the motion, putting the glass back on the tabletop.

Drinking so quickly in his degraded state isn't suggestible, but the following sicky feeling tells him that much. A hiccup is swallowed sternly before he attempts to answer Jin.]

Does it -hic- [Fail.] - look like I'm in any way to -hi-[Pause. Breath. Calm down.] -fight?

[Irritable much? Oh yes. Hiccups are the most frustrating thing.]

hi

[culbutiri]

You should be drinking slower. [She doesn't seem surprised to see him, though she actually is. She has no idea how he managed it and wondered if Jin or this other girl had anything to do with it. She had gotten caught up in training and missed dinner, so she had come to see if she could find anything to eat despite the late hour.

She smirked at the hiccups though. Hiding her relief that he was alright, one less victory to the light addled.]

sneaks in a worktag because i'm a shitty employee

[seekinganswers]

No, a swarm of some kind of shadow creatures, [Is Sheba's immediate response to the question - and then her eyes widen and she whirls around to face Jin, startled. She hadn't even realized he'd been on the floor... how on earth...?

She definitely had been preoccupied while getting the water and food.]

Oh... hi, Jin. [At least it's him and not someone who might be more openly hostile upon seeing Sephiroth. She's going to have to be more observant--

And then there's Nesir. Sheba nearly jumps out of surprise, but manages to keep herself calm, and watches carefully as Nesir addresses Sephiroth. A friend of his? ...the other girl doesn't seem hostile either, which is good. Sheba relaxes, but only just a little, because it's late and who knows what else might be thrown at them soon. She'll feel a lot better about this once they're all safely in their rooms.]

...a friend of yours, Sephiroth? [She looks from him to Nesir.]

party rockin in the cafeteria tonightttttt

[morituramfides]

[He really shouldn't be so amused that Sephiroth had ended up with the hiccups, but hearing him trying to snap back at him when he was shaking and hiccuping couldn't help but make him chuckle.

Nesir's presence is a surprise-- it doesn't really stop him from being amused, but at least he wasn't harping on how ridiculous the situation before him was.]

'Sup. [He gave a half wave to Sheba (and Sephiroth too, because well he was kind of one of the slightly more tolerable people around here?) before crossing his arms over his stomach and extending a half-hearted greeting to Nesir as well (though his vague amusement never goes away).] Nice of you to join the party too.

[Very half-hearted.]

Must have been some swarm. I didn't miss any of the good disasters, did I?

[That's... probably his way of asking what happened?]

[neverbeamemory]

[The look that he levels at Nesir for pointing out the now-fucking-obvious could well have killed lesser beings on his World. Between small hic noises that he tries to muffle, Sephiroth nods and much slower this time raises the glass again to take a smaller sip.]

-hic-
This is Nesir.
-hic-

[He answers Sheba before putting the glass back down. For the sake of this little gathering, lets not get into the complicated relationship he has with the adolescent acolyte and let them all pretend they are friends. To be honest, Sephiroth is equally surprised she came looking too but between all the hiccups, shaking and feeling wretched he's not showing it.

Same as he's just not got the energy to take offense to Jin's apparent vague amusement at the whole situation.]

Just another load of -hic- dead monsters.

[He shudders again, so deep that he finds himself hunching over a little. The water feels almost alien inside his shrunken stomach, but Sephiroth forces himself to sit up a little straighter --as if he could rescue something of his pride-- and looks over the various foods on the plate nearby.

Not having generally a need to eat does have it's disadvantages in this situation. He's not sure if it's too soon to try to eat something yet, if he should try to take a little more water first, or if he should just get back to his Dormitory already. It feels degrading enough sitting like a sick puppy between the three of them.]

[culbutiri]

You do be knowing me, I do never be missing a party. [Also not mentioning their friendship or lack of it. She swung up onto one of the cabinets and knelt on it, rumaging on the higher shelves for food. Sephiroth was bound to be hungry and she looked for something he could eat that wouldn't require cooking.

She frowned and then jumped from the cabinet, landing gracefully and moving over to the keep things cold cupboard (also known as a fridge to those from worlds with modern appliances). She grabbed a bottle of milk and then a glass.]

Be sipping it. Really slowly.

[seekinganswers]

"Good disasters"?

[Sheba has to bite back a slight giggle at that. Only in the Tower could a disaster be classified as good... well, no, that's a bit untrue. The way Jin says it is still entertaining, though.]

That would depend on your idea of "good." [Jailbreaks might fall under that, actually.

She looks from Jin, to Sephiroth, to Nesir, and then she nods.] ...it's nice to meet you, Nesir. [And then she watches as Nesir fetches some milk and a glass.] Oh! That's a good idea... thank you.

[Sephiroth probably won't want to discuss the specifics behind how he ended up in that cell with this many people around, so she doesn't ask. Instead, she discreetly looks away from him so he can have some measure of "privacy" as he tackles the food and the milk.] ...well, you have to admit it was a decent workout, at least. I don't think I've taken on that many monsters in a long time. [And then she turns her attention back to Sephiroth, very briefly, to shoot him a cheeky grin.] You were amazing out there!

[Because flattery will get you everywhere, or so they say. Especially when said flattery is genuine.]