āUntil we learn to lean on others, we are only as strong as our weakest moment.ā
With nowhere to be and nothing in particular to do, Anastasia found herself once again wandering the grounds. Sheād spent several hours this morning taking apart her computer and putting it back together, but eventually sheād grown a bit bored with it and swept all the extra parts into a small bag, righted the machine with an affectionate pat and decided that what she really needed was some fresh air. It was such a lovely day, besides, and she could also use some company.
As soon as her bare feet hit the grass outside (it was a weekend, after all, and she didnāt have to wear shoes on the weekend if she didnāt want to), she cast her mind out over the campus like a net, seeking for certain people in particular. Of course, she always wound up with more information than she was looking for, so she knew that Luke was talking to the headmaster, and that he at least was not pleased, but she didnāt want to pry, and so she kept away from any more information than that. Imperceptibly, she brushed over every consciousness in her range, stopping for a moment when she found Sora, Sachiko, and Asuka all together in the library, but they seemed occupied, and likely would not appreciate her company right now.
In the end, though, she found him, and he appeared to be by himself, andā¦ sleeping? She heard a fragment of a feminine voice, and surmised that he dreamed of something. Well, sheād not intrude on that, but perhaps he wouldn't mind if she came to keep him company. If he was still napping by the time she got there, heād leave him be, of course, but she hadnāt seen him in a few days, and felt rather sorry for that. She was his friend, after all, even if he didnāt think so. It was rather difficult to dissuade her once sheād set her mind on something, and this was no exception. What sheād told Luke was the truth, after allā¦ though she did still wonder why the golden-haired man did not consider himself Zenithās friend as well.
She found him, as sheād expected to, in the sanctuary, where that tree was still blooming. It really was a wondrous thing, that it never stopped doing that. The scene looked on the surface of it to be quite serenely composed, and with an artistās eye, and for a moment, she wondered how on earth sheād wound up with such beautiful friends. It wasnāt a quality she went looking for, but it seemed to have happened that way, regardless. Well, that was no great tragedy, and while perhaps another would have nursed a blossoming inferiority complex, Ana didnāt let it bother her. She simply appreciated it, as one did tend to appreciate sculpture or painting. But there was no mistaking that to her sight, to her eyes, it was not serene at all, but rather tragic, as if it had all been tinged in blue and grey and misery.
She took a few steps closer, leaning over him a bit, hands clasped behind her back, to try and discern if he was still asleep or not, and from the regularity of the rise and fall of his chest and the way his eyes were closed, she supposed that he was. Ana was just about to straighten herself and leave him be when they opened, revealing that luminous golden color to the world. She smiled softly, tilting her head such that most of her hair fell over her shoulder. āAh, there you are,ā she said brightly, though at low volume. āI hope Iām not intruding; sorry to wake you.ā Actually, she wasnāt really sure if sheād woken him at all, but regardless, it was probably a bit weird, to see someone you hadnāt expected first thing after waking up. She didnāt bother explaining that sheād only been checking if he really was asleep, because she didnāt feel the need. If he asked she certainly would, but she was not embarrassed by her own presence here.
Instead, she only straightened, still smiling, then took a seat about a foot to his left, folding her legs underneath her and pulling the entire mass of her hair over her shoulder. āItās been a little while, hasnāt it? Or maybe it just seems like longer, because of all thatās happenedā¦ā Her voice took on a note of melancholy, and her fingers froze for a moment in the act of separating her ochre strands into three sections, but then she shook her head faintly and resumed the motion, twisting the mass into a braid with deft fingers, more to have something to do with her hands than anything else. If she felt at all odd or uncomfortable making conversation with someone who spoke so infrequently and in such clipped phrases, she did not show it. In fact, she was perfectly fine with this.
In the library, the group of three sat around one of the tables, one of Soraās hands currently interlaced with one of Asukaās, the joined limbs resting on his knee. Across from them, Sachiko was seated crosslegged on a chair, her journal open in front of her. Interestingly, new faces had joined the old onesāin addition to Haruka, Asuka, Alice, and the boy Sora recognized as having injured Rosenkreuz at the festival, there were now portraits of the Headmaster, the one called Luke, and, oddly, Anastasia.
āWhatās Guillory got to do with anything?ā Sora asked, a frown turning his mouth downwards. If the girl was some kind of agent of whomever they were dealing with hereā¦ then he had to admit, she was a very good one. He wasnāt always the best at reading people, but he could usually tell the good from the wicked in broad strokes. Sheād seemed anything but wicked, so much so that it had actually weirded him out a little, at first. But a mind-reader who could get through vampiric nullification like his was doubtless a useful thing to have, human or otherwise.
Sachiko sighed through her nose. āI honestly donāt know,ā she said quietly, her hands resting loosely in her lap. āIt so unclear still. Maybe nothingā¦ maybe everything. Sheās not our enemy, I know that much, butā¦ beyond that I canāt say anything with certainty.ā Pursing her lips, she raised her hands to the end of one of her twintails, worrying the hair slightly in an anxious gesture sheād had since childhood.
āAll rightā¦ what about the rest of them? Did the Headmaster really kill Kaede?ā The girlās last words were powerful evidence, but the meaning behind them had not been absolutely clear, and Sora did not raise a blade unless he was entirely certain of why he was doing it. That much was a necessity in the assassinās credo.
āI donāt know,ā she repeated, her frustration becoming clear. āHe was definitely involved somehow, but I do not know in what capacity. She just started bleeding, right? Iāve never seen a power that can simply rupture internal organs like that. I canāt tell if he had to touch her to make it work, or if it was a completely mental thing, or what, and without that information, I donāt know enough to narrow down the people that were around her in her last moments.ā
Sora ran a free hand down his face, his other reflexively tightening where it held Asukaās. āAnd you still canāt locate the Contra Mundi?ā
She shook her head. āNo,ā she replied softly. āHeās invisible to me. ā¦Just like you are, Sora.ā She swallowed, unsure what it could mean, but there were some truly unpleasant possibilities. Possibilities that Sora was choosing to ignore for the moment. None of it mattered anyway.
āWhat about you, Asuka? Did Rosenkreuz seem to know anything about what happened?ā
As soon as her bare feet hit the grass outside (it was a weekend, after all, and she didnāt have to wear shoes on the weekend if she didnāt want to), she cast her mind out over the campus like a net, seeking for certain people in particular. Of course, she always wound up with more information than she was looking for, so she knew that Luke was talking to the headmaster, and that he at least was not pleased, but she didnāt want to pry, and so she kept away from any more information than that. Imperceptibly, she brushed over every consciousness in her range, stopping for a moment when she found Sora, Sachiko, and Asuka all together in the library, but they seemed occupied, and likely would not appreciate her company right now.
In the end, though, she found him, and he appeared to be by himself, andā¦ sleeping? She heard a fragment of a feminine voice, and surmised that he dreamed of something. Well, sheād not intrude on that, but perhaps he wouldn't mind if she came to keep him company. If he was still napping by the time she got there, heād leave him be, of course, but she hadnāt seen him in a few days, and felt rather sorry for that. She was his friend, after all, even if he didnāt think so. It was rather difficult to dissuade her once sheād set her mind on something, and this was no exception. What sheād told Luke was the truth, after allā¦ though she did still wonder why the golden-haired man did not consider himself Zenithās friend as well.
She found him, as sheād expected to, in the sanctuary, where that tree was still blooming. It really was a wondrous thing, that it never stopped doing that. The scene looked on the surface of it to be quite serenely composed, and with an artistās eye, and for a moment, she wondered how on earth sheād wound up with such beautiful friends. It wasnāt a quality she went looking for, but it seemed to have happened that way, regardless. Well, that was no great tragedy, and while perhaps another would have nursed a blossoming inferiority complex, Ana didnāt let it bother her. She simply appreciated it, as one did tend to appreciate sculpture or painting. But there was no mistaking that to her sight, to her eyes, it was not serene at all, but rather tragic, as if it had all been tinged in blue and grey and misery.
She took a few steps closer, leaning over him a bit, hands clasped behind her back, to try and discern if he was still asleep or not, and from the regularity of the rise and fall of his chest and the way his eyes were closed, she supposed that he was. Ana was just about to straighten herself and leave him be when they opened, revealing that luminous golden color to the world. She smiled softly, tilting her head such that most of her hair fell over her shoulder. āAh, there you are,ā she said brightly, though at low volume. āI hope Iām not intruding; sorry to wake you.ā Actually, she wasnāt really sure if sheād woken him at all, but regardless, it was probably a bit weird, to see someone you hadnāt expected first thing after waking up. She didnāt bother explaining that sheād only been checking if he really was asleep, because she didnāt feel the need. If he asked she certainly would, but she was not embarrassed by her own presence here.
Instead, she only straightened, still smiling, then took a seat about a foot to his left, folding her legs underneath her and pulling the entire mass of her hair over her shoulder. āItās been a little while, hasnāt it? Or maybe it just seems like longer, because of all thatās happenedā¦ā Her voice took on a note of melancholy, and her fingers froze for a moment in the act of separating her ochre strands into three sections, but then she shook her head faintly and resumed the motion, twisting the mass into a braid with deft fingers, more to have something to do with her hands than anything else. If she felt at all odd or uncomfortable making conversation with someone who spoke so infrequently and in such clipped phrases, she did not show it. In fact, she was perfectly fine with this.
In the library, the group of three sat around one of the tables, one of Soraās hands currently interlaced with one of Asukaās, the joined limbs resting on his knee. Across from them, Sachiko was seated crosslegged on a chair, her journal open in front of her. Interestingly, new faces had joined the old onesāin addition to Haruka, Asuka, Alice, and the boy Sora recognized as having injured Rosenkreuz at the festival, there were now portraits of the Headmaster, the one called Luke, and, oddly, Anastasia.
āWhatās Guillory got to do with anything?ā Sora asked, a frown turning his mouth downwards. If the girl was some kind of agent of whomever they were dealing with hereā¦ then he had to admit, she was a very good one. He wasnāt always the best at reading people, but he could usually tell the good from the wicked in broad strokes. Sheād seemed anything but wicked, so much so that it had actually weirded him out a little, at first. But a mind-reader who could get through vampiric nullification like his was doubtless a useful thing to have, human or otherwise.
Sachiko sighed through her nose. āI honestly donāt know,ā she said quietly, her hands resting loosely in her lap. āIt so unclear still. Maybe nothingā¦ maybe everything. Sheās not our enemy, I know that much, butā¦ beyond that I canāt say anything with certainty.ā Pursing her lips, she raised her hands to the end of one of her twintails, worrying the hair slightly in an anxious gesture sheād had since childhood.
āAll rightā¦ what about the rest of them? Did the Headmaster really kill Kaede?ā The girlās last words were powerful evidence, but the meaning behind them had not been absolutely clear, and Sora did not raise a blade unless he was entirely certain of why he was doing it. That much was a necessity in the assassinās credo.
āI donāt know,ā she repeated, her frustration becoming clear. āHe was definitely involved somehow, but I do not know in what capacity. She just started bleeding, right? Iāve never seen a power that can simply rupture internal organs like that. I canāt tell if he had to touch her to make it work, or if it was a completely mental thing, or what, and without that information, I donāt know enough to narrow down the people that were around her in her last moments.ā
Sora ran a free hand down his face, his other reflexively tightening where it held Asukaās. āAnd you still canāt locate the Contra Mundi?ā
She shook her head. āNo,ā she replied softly. āHeās invisible to me. ā¦Just like you are, Sora.ā She swallowed, unsure what it could mean, but there were some truly unpleasant possibilities. Possibilities that Sora was choosing to ignore for the moment. None of it mattered anyway.
āWhat about you, Asuka? Did Rosenkreuz seem to know anything about what happened?ā