Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec
Vivi awoke with a start, which was funny because he didn't remember falling asleep. Especially on a bed, in a room he didn't recognize in the slightest. Panic bubbled and he looked around anxiously. The little mage remembered being in the woods, practicing his spells. That usually didn't cause him to wind up in strange places, not without at least recalling what went wrong.
On sight, it wasn't a very friendly room. It was sparce of anything personal. A bed, a desk, a shelf with books, and a long, black, unidentifiable shape slumped in the corner. The mattress didn't creak as he inched himself toward the foot of the bed, peering over its wooden footboard.
"Hello?"
Then he reached deep for bravery against monsters under the bed and tipped himself almost entirely upside-down over the edge, looking beneath.
"Hello?"
Suddenly, the one saving grace was, aside from the flickering fire lamp across the room and the shadows it cast, nothing else was alive and accompanying him. It only made him feel slightly better. It just meant his kidnapper wasn't in the room with him.
The lack of an answer made him feel an ounce of relief
With that out of the way, he could freely admit it was a nice room. Splashed in soft colors dulled further but the earthly hues of the lamp, dark enough to sleep in and bright enough to read if you were at the desk with a book. But even nice rooms could be cages, yes?
Vivi cautiously slid off the mattress and approached the wooden door tucked away from shelves. Light trickled from under it, and muted voices filtered poorly through the same crack. He was afraid it would be locked, meant to keep him in until his captor returned, but the iron handle, while forboding to grasp, turned under his weight and the click of the latching mechanism sounded. It wasn't locked, which didn't make sense. Kidnapped heroes were always locked up.
Actually opening the door took effort. The doors of Twilight Town's residences were made of light wood, tough but near weightless. This wasn't, but with some creativity (foot against the wall, both hands holding the handle) and luck, Vivi got it open enough to pry the rest open with his own hands.
What he found as soon as it was properly open was a man staring at him. With a cup to his lips but no drinking, making to pass the door but not moving, Vivi got the impression he should have waited five more seconds before even bothering. Now he was caught.
But the man didn't move, staring at him like he's couldn't believe what he was seeing, minus an obvious shock factor. Vivi stared back petrified.
"Guys, you're friend's awake."
He spoke around the cup, and suddenly-- "Really??"-- there was a stampede, getting louder and impending, only lasting a true moment before Hayner slid into view.
"Thank god, youre all right!"
Pence and Olette were there as he spoke, and both were looking mighty relieved as well. The man with the cup moved on silently, and to replace him, Raijin and Fuujin appeared behind the trio. Vivi began to seriously wonder now. "Um," he started, "where are we? And is Seifer anywhere?"
Vivi expected jeers, at least from Hayner, an answer from Olette or Raijin, and a scowl from Fuujin. He hadn't ever imagined there would be a collective of pain or sadness jumping from one expression to another, not when it came to Seifer.
"C'mon Vivi," Olette said, holding out her hand in encouragement. But her voice rattled with emotion. "We need to fill you in."