towerofanimus | Sleepover before the storm

Characters: [OU] Xion, Excalibur, and whoever comes
Setting: Floor 101
Format: Whatever floats your boat
Summary: It's the night before the infiltration. People are plotting, discussing, and Xion has brought a Dream Eater so those who want to try to get a good night's sleep have a marginally higher chance of doing so. So in short it's a Tower-flavored sleepover. Bring your own pillows.
Warnings: Nothing in the top level. Will try to edit if anything changes but if something comes up in one of your threads make sure to add a warning in the subject line

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[Standard mingle post procedure. Make your top levels. Tag around. Have fun. Or not, this is Animus after all.

Notes will have been passed out and quiet discussion gone around by word of mouth, just saying that several people were spending the night in the hidden floor. Anybody who spoke to Xion would have been told that she's trying to figure out a way everybody can get a good night's sleep. You'll need to supply your own blankets and pillows but... hey, at least if you have trouble sleeping, you'll have company?

Note that any characters who sleep on the Hidden Floor, if they normally suffer from nightmares will likely have notably lessened or absent nightmares (up to your discretion) owing to the Dream Eater that Xion has brought with.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Plotting? Has someone been plotting? In spite of this being the night to get a full night's sleep, Sheena is still restless, and she's moving around the room like the ninja she is: very, very quietly to work off that energy. Along the way, she spots Zelda and the maps and peers at them before looking at the other woman.]

Have you figured out the best way in and what we can expect?

[Zelda glances up, a bit surprised at having not heard Sheena's approach. Granted, she's a bit preoccupied, but she can still hear Impa's scolding in the back of her mind. After that moment, however, she places the map down so Sheena can see it better.]

Aria seems to have faith this route will work, considering it is the only one she has given us. ... I cannot say for certain what kind of resistance we might meet. It seems Riki has been concentrating very deeply on this project of his, with how he has not even bothered to glamour up proper food for us this month, so he may be distracted to the point of sloppiness regarding security.

[A pause, and a slight frown.]

That may be optimistic thinking, though.

[Sheena gives the woman an apologetic smile when she looks up.]

Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't want to disturb anyone who's already asleep.

[Looking at the map, she kneels down without realizing to get a better look, her finger tracing the path laid out for them.]

I trust Aria, so if she says this is the best one to take, it's the best one to take. As for resistance, hmmm. [She studies the map for a minute before meeting the other woman's gaze.] I was trained to always be on guard for anything, so while the food [grimace] is proper, that might not mean he's being sloppy.

[She pauses and taps the map.]

Not to be a pessimist, but it could mean he's focusing on the security here instead.

No, that is perfectly reasonable thinking. Riki has always been the most enigmatic, so it is difficult to pin down exactly what he will do.

[Her thoughtful frown deepens as she stares at the map.]

The disappearance of the monsters on the residential floors should not be overlooked. He would not try to sew them together into some giant monstrosity like Jason would, I do not think, but... [A sigh.] I suppose the best course of action would be to just prepare for anything and work to get in and how as quickly and quietly as possible.

He's always been like that? [She thinks for a moment.] How long have you been here? [She has a question and only someone who's been there longer than her may be able to answer.

Then she's shaking her head with a slight shudder added.]

No, Jason was definitely one of a kind in that regard. [A beat.] But they're all under Ruana's control... [Her brows knit together as she also peers at the map again.] Or maybe not, considering Zo's message. Of course, that doesn't mean Riki's left her, too, does it? He could have removed the monsters from those floors in order to conserve energy or to have them surround wherever he is to protect him from both us and Ruana. So, the getting in may not be the problem, the getting out may be.

[She looks up.]

Any ideas on that?

Two and a half years, give or take a month or so.

[Said dispassionately, detaching herself as much as possible from the fact she's been in this hell for so long. She'll surely go mad if she thinks too hard on it.

She listens to Sheena's theorizing quietly, thoughtfully, eyes closed as she tries to mentally picture what she can of the potential situation.]

If that is the case, then fighting all of them off as well as potentially Riki himself would be suicidal at best. Only fighting enough to clear a path and then running as fast as possible would likely be our best chance. [A pause. Hmm...] Perhaps if there are enough of us with the right sort of skills, we could create barriers to protect us from the barrage as we escape.

[She can protect a few, at least, but probably not the entire infiltration group on her own.]

[It's not Sheena's intention to make Zelda uncomfortable, but she has to know something.]

Have any of Riki's actions that have seemed to be in our best interest turned out not to be? Or just the opposite? They had seemed bad, but were actually good? [She shakes her head.] I don't want to upset you, but it's something that's been bugging me ever since this whole thing started.

[Sheena makes a soft noise of agreement when Zelda's finished with her idea.] Yeah, going in all-out at once would be a bad idea. There'd be nothing left when we really need it. But it can take only a few people to take out a whole army if done right... [She stops her own musings and looks up sharply.]

What kind of barriers? Actual physical ones or invisible ones? [She sighs.] In a way, I kinda wish people from my village were here.

[A small army of ninja would be a beautiful sight.]

[She's quiet for a moment, thinking over Sheena's question. After a while, the months begin to run together, but...]

... He has never seemed to care one way or the other about us, if I am honest. He did instruct us in how to clear the rubble from the staircase when a number of us were trapped in the dormitories, but his priority has always been the Tower itself. Then again, he likely knows he holds that kind of reputation, which would be how he tricked us so easily into thinking the Tower was losing power prematurely.

[That's not a satisfactory answer, she knows, but it's the only one she has. At the request for clarification, Zelda holds up a hand, briefly using her magic to summon a small, shimmering golden wall in front of it.]

Magical, though there is only so much I can do before I exhaust myself. [Dismissing the magic barrier, she tilts her head.] Are your people experienced in matters such as this?

So, you think everything he did was for the Tower and nothing else? [She pauses herself as she thinks about what she's seen and heard since her arrival.] Ummm, what I'm about to say is going to sound really strange, but... [She takes a fortifying breath.]

Do you think it's possible the Tower's alive?

[She can't really explain how she had come to that conclusion, but it makes some sort of sense to her.]

Is he weaker against magical ones? Or maybe there's a way to combine them so you won't tire? [Damn...where's Raine when she needs her?]

Oh, uh... The people of my village are ninja and are really good at being discreet and stealthy.

[A very nice way of saying "sneaky".]

Sleepover before the storm

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