discoveries?

[prayerless]

Characters: Aqua, Roxas, and hopefully the other girls of 1-07? Also open.
Setting: Room 1-07 (Aqua, AU!Feferi, Vietnam, Vriska) or Floor Three, the old library
Format: Starting prose, but I'll match. <3
Summary: Spells, socializing, and stumbling across something quite unfortunate.
Warnings: (Temporary) character death in the library, and magic

Comments

[Floor Three]

[lamentless]

The east "corner" of the library- tucked in between the cookbooks and romance novels -still has the same peculiar overturned shelf acting as a makeshift tent. However, the blanket had slumped at an odd angle, and despite a dictionary's best efforts, was slipping away and gradually giving view to its insides.

Of course, he'd picked that specific corner because it was very unlikely that anyone would go near it, so suffice to say he had been undisturbed by others for some time. Which was probably not such a good thing, in retrospect.

[prayerless]

It took Aqua quite a while before she reached the east side of the library, as she was very thorough in her search of any books that may have proved useful to her cause. When she finally rounded the final bookcase, though, the peculiar structure set up in the corner caught her eye.

After taking a glance around to see that no one else could see, Aqua cautiously approached the little fort. "Hello?" she tried, her voice kept at a moderately low level just in case there were others in the library. "Is someone in there?"

[lamentless]

Inside was a very deceased blonde, curled up and stiff, with a couple popsicle sticks and wrappers littered about. At most, he might have been alive that morning, given the melted ice cream.

At least he finally got some rest.

[prayerless]

When no response came, Aqua narrowed her eyes, calling her Keyblade to her hand. It materialized in clusters of light. She reached out with it, hooking the blanket on the prongs and pulling the cover the rest of the way off

[f0rceless]

"Aqua?"

She might not get her chance to go very far, because apparently Ven had been coming up the stairs to..whatever his destination was, and was stopped on the stairway when he saw the blunette in the library.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He asked. She seemed like she had had somewhere to go, but then when did he ever care about keeping people from their appointments for a chat.

[lethechained]

Naminé happened to be coming the opposite direction down the stairs (the elevator was easier, sure, but she had working legs and, after all, the exercise was good for her). The familiar voice stopped her in her tracks, and she was quick to look to see which of the two possible candidates it belonged to. Ven, it appeared, and... was that who she thought it was with him? She blinked; she'd known Aqua was here, but she'd yet to meet her. Now seemed as good a time as any, despite the growing feeling in the back of her mind that something wasn't quite right. She'd waved the thought off several times already today, blaming it on her continuing process of adjustment to living in the tower. Uncertain exactly how to approach the situation, she settled for the greeting of, "Ven," accompanied by an almost apologetic smile.

[prayerless]

Aqua barely registered Ven's voice at first, testament enough to how shaken she was despite not appearing so. It was only after some considerably delayed brain processes did Aqua realize that she was being addressed by something that wasn't a figment of her imagination

[f0rceless]

The way Aqua said his name, Ven grew a bit more concerned. He tilted his head to the side and was about to ask what was the matter, before he noticed Naminé descending on the staircase he was currently occupying. He dropped the subject momentarily, grinning when he noticed the other blonde. "Hey Naminé!"

"Oh, right!" He looked back at Aqua for a moment, "Aqua, this is my friend, Naminé. I met her around the tower." He'd, just tell her about the fact that Naminé knew a bunch of stuff they didn't later. That could wait, right? "Naminé, this is my friend Aqua, the one I was telling you about," He added, now looking back at Naminé.

Ven was pretty happy with himself when he finished introductions (now two of his friends could meet each other after all!), so when Aqua brought up Roxas, he looked back at her with a side glance, still smiling a bit. "What about Roxas?"

[lethechained]

Her smile got a little more open when she was greeted back, and she descended the last few steps to stop on the even floor. She turned her eyes toward Aqua as Ven introduced them. It was strange, finally seeing her in person, and she couldn't help studying her just a bit. Ven's omission of certain things did not, however, go unnoticed. Still, she managed a smile for Aqua and a nod. "It's nice to meet you, Aqua." Fortunately she had the presence of mind not to include a 'finally' in there.

She was immediately distracted by the mention of Roxas, which caused her to glance at Ven, then look back to Aqua, expression growing more curious and just ever so slightly apprehensive, that feeling that something was off coming to mind immediately.

[prayerless]

Aqua looked between Ven and Naminé with distraction. It's not that she wasn't happy to meet one of Ventus' friends, but...she wasn't exactly in the right mindset for it. If she noticed Naminé's observance of her, she didn't say anything. "It's nice to meet you, too," returned the mage, adding as an afterthought, "I hope Ven didn't tell you any bad things about me." It was intended as a joke, but there was understandably not much life to it.

She almost thought she'd gotten away with not having to talk about Roxas for the time being, but then Ven had to bring it up again. The small smile vanished, and she looked away from both her fellow apprentice and his new friend, focusing her gaze somewhere just off of the floor.

"...I found Roxas' body," she finally said, voice somber.

[f0rceless]

"Aw come on Aqua, you know I wouldn't say anything bad about you!" Ven offered, chuckling a little and folding his arms behind his head. It wasn't that he didn't notice her listlessness, more that he wanted to try and cheer her up. Her and Naminé seemed so down!

When Aqua spoke again however, he lowered his arms and looked...well, considerably less pleased with himself. He looked at Naminé as if to check to her reaction, before looking back at Aqua again and speaking carefully, his brow furrowing a bit. "You...found his body? What do you mean?"

[lethechained]

Naminé's reaction was... good, considering. She made no noise, but her skin went ashen immediately, her eyes wide and disbelieving for only an instant before her expression became something between shame and surprise. She'd known something was wrong-- she hadn't seen him in so long-- why hadn't she gone to look for him? Why? She already knew what Aqua meant, but still, she looked at Ven when he asked and back at Aqua, hoping her assumption was incorrect.

[prayerless]

Aqua still didn't meet Ven's eyes -- she wasn't sure exactly what Naminé's silence meant, but she wasn't going to ask. It wasn't her place. "...he wasn't asleep," she went on regretfully, reluctant to bluntly speak of the matter of death. "I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry."

[f0rceless]

"...."

It was obvious he made the conclusion at some point, as Ven's face slowly moved towards a mixture of shock and sadness. He looked down at the ground a bit, trying to think. It couldn't have been Eiji again, could it?! No... she said she found the body, so he hadn't been shattered, right...? Unless Eiji had some other powers..

"But why, what happened?" He said when he finally looked up. He seemed to be keeping his calm at least, though it was obvious he was in not a little bit of distress. This was the second time after all! "Did he get attacked by someone?"

[lethechained]

Ven saved her the trouble of asking, so she kept silent, watching Aqua carefully for her answer. Naminé's expression changed only to grow more pained as she waited and her mind reeled until she managed to reign it in; it didn't pay to assume without that answer.

[prayerless]

Aqua finally found herself able to look at Ven when he posed the question. "...I'm not sure," she confessed quietly. She had to think for a few seconds after her claim. "I found him in a little fort," she elaborated with a motion of her arm, "down that way."

A thought struck her. "...it actually looked like he had been asleep. He had ice cream wrappers around him, too. It seemed like he had been staying in that thing for a little while."