Beneath the Sheets of Paper Lies My Truth [open]

[dustywawa]

The sound of footsteps penetrating the silence of the castle was like a sneeze during a eulogy. The lantern's light that she held flitted and scurried across the darkened walls dancing a delicate but rash ballet with the dark. The flame quivered as she walked through the elongated corridors and passageways of the castle casting just enough light to help her pass her way through the heavy dark. It flickered and gleaned with a sad sense of enduring hope as it combated to provide sight. As Aerith approached her destination, she stopped a few feet shy of the door and looked at the door. She thought she knew the castle well enough to traverse it without help, but there were always those times she ended up on the complete opposite side. Without trying to give it a second thought, Aerith blew out the flame and pressed the door open.

The door creaked like any good door to the dark unknown should, and Aerith quietly entered the room and sighed in relief. The books on the shelves whispered their titles in the low glow of the midnight pouring through the high windows. Flashing a smile at her discovery, Aerith walked into the silence and placed her lantern on the edge of the nearest table before working her way through the aisles. Grabbing anything that looked pertinent, she made her way to her table and placed her selection down before sliding her chair out and picking up the first book.

Aerith had been wanting to both do some pleasure reading and to do some research but had been caught up in her duties on the Restoration Committee to give it any mind in the last few weeks. Just earlier that day, she had been running around like a headless chicken giving flowers and refreshments to all the volunteers who had helped fix up a dilapidated house on the outskirts of town. Sure nobody had been living in there, but Aerith felt as though making the town prettier was in the Restoration Committee's manifesto even if not explicitly stated. She always felt so accomplished after either helping someone out or making things more beautiful; it felt like she was giving back to a place that gave her a second chance.

The first book she flipped through was nothing more than some old woman's journal and cookbook. Although she dogeared one of the pages that had a delicious sounding tart recipe, Aerith tossed the book to the side before clambering for the next one. It wasn't that she was really looking for anything in specific; it was more that she just was searching for a general direction in which to look. She felt like her life was stuck in the doldrums and some excitement or breakthrough discovery could kick start it into something meaningful once more. Feeling as though she was getting nowhere with the books she had, Aerith stood up forcefully knocking her chair in which caused the lantern to fall over.

The sound of the glass shattering reverberated loudly in the vicinity of the library. The sound was like a that of a banshee chasing after its prey in the pale moonlight. Reacting quickly and instinctively, Aerith bent over and began picking up the jagged pieces of glass. As she was cleaning, she happened to see a book slid under one of the racks. Curious, she stopped her cleaning and examined the object. It was small and smelled dank and musky. She pried the yellowing pages open and discovered a handwritten scribble floating across the tattered paper. "Interesting."

Before she could sit down and pour her attention into the book however, she thought she heard someone draw near the library door. Now this wasn't out of the ordinary for the castle to be inhibited, but it was also the middle of the night. Stealing quietly from her seat, Aerith held the book tight before making her way to a different table not easily seen from the doorway before plopping in the chair. Her eyes concentrated on the door for the time being hoping that she was just hearing things and that she wouldn't be interrupted.

[Kuu]

Amongst the shadows that dwelt in the depths of the uninhabited castle, a globe of an even deeper darkness expanded into existence and from it stepped a hooded figure, the carpet beneath his feet dampening the sound of his arrival. He wondered why he had decided to make his destination here of all places. Looking around, he tried to connect what little he knew of the man who had imprisoned him a world of his own wishful thinking and this castle, the home he had once lived in. It was strange to think of something so normal as a home in association with his cold, unfeeling jailer. Perhaps, like him, these belonged to a person whom DiZ had once been, in a similar way to how Roxas had once been Sora.

DiZ had known more about the Organisation than anyone else - perhaps here, he could trace their origin, their history, and more importantly, how to finish them once and for all. How had they returned? How could they be stopped for good? And how did their Heartless counterparts come to be? It was all too coincidental. He had to know more.

Ahead, he noted a chink of light that did not come from the dim moonlight peeking in through the window slats. Somebody was here other than himself. The building looked like it had been in better shape, but also seemed to be in a state of restoration. But still, it was suspicious that someone was around when it was the middle of the night. As he approached the door, there was a shattering sound and the light went out, and in his shock, his Keyblade instinctively flashed into existence in his hand. He hurriedly dismissed it, worried that whoever was inside may have sensed its presence - it was a powerful weapon after all. Once again, proving to be more of a trouble magnet than any help.

Roxas pressed himself flat against the wall, trying to look through the crack between the half-open door and its frame while remaining hidden in shadow. It was a woman, and she was holding a book. He tried to recall the names of Sora's friends in Radiant Garden - but as with all friends of friends, her identity eluded him.

He sighed inwardly. So much for incognito. How am I supposed to get any info when people keep appearing?

[dustywawa]

Surely it was just a figment of her imagination. Aerith watched the door with a fevered anticipation waiting for any clue of who or what may lie behind the cracked door. The moments stretched on into lifetimes as she glared at the crack. She was about to give up and blame it on bad nerves when she heard a strange noise like a sword being swooped through the air. Frightened, Aerith froze up and prayed that nothing ill willed would come through that door. She sat in her petrified state for a few moments before she thought she caught a glimpse of someone peeping in the doorway.

"Surely no normal person would be in the castle this late, so either the person is lost or up to no good," Aerith contemplated before standing to address the unknown person. Keeping herself safe, she pushed herself up against the wall so that she was not visible from the door and slowly slid down the wall towards the entrance to the library. Aerith didn't feel any aura of impending danger or doom seeping from the door, so she thought she might have some fun with this. As she crept closer and closer to the door, she made sure that she was completely out of sight before she looked in the crack of the door. She waited a few moments for the quiet to settle in again before she threw the door open and jumped in front of the opening. "Boo!"

Hoping she had scared whoever it was, Aerith finally caught the image of the wanderer in her giggling state. Seeing him made her stop her laughter and pause. Standing there was a person shrouded in a pitch black coat. Alarmed she almost immediately ran back into the library,but something stopped her. She did feel a strong aura radiating from the mysterious figure. It was a sort of ambiguous power, but she didn't fear this sense for she felt some darkness but no malignancy in it. Whoever this was would prove an interesting to converse with. After all who was in the castle by themselves in the dead of night? What purpose did it have here? She laughed at a little at this because she was doing the same thing. Surveying the cloaked one, Aerith put on an inquisitive smile before giving it her full attention.

"Sorry about that," she apologized giving the stranger a half way sincere shoulder shrug. "I just assumed you were someone I knew. It's not usual for strangers to be in the castle without an escort." "Or in the middle of the night," she thought to herself keeping the words inside. Aerith never really needed a reason to be inquisitive but now that her curiosity was really perked, she couldn't let the cloaked one just leave without figuring out who it was. Aerith continued on, "That makes me think you're lost. Is that the case?" She looked questionably at the person hoping that just maybe that tonight would turn out more interesting.

[Kuu]

((Sorry for the late reply - Christmas shopping ^^; On an IC note, Roxas' face is covered in a hood to protect his identity, so Aerith can't say 'he looked just like a friend' I'll leave you to make your own edits and keep moving on~))

Roxas leapt back at the sudden shout, almost re-summoning his Keyblade in reflexive shock. Obviously if he was going to travel around anonymous, his recon skills were going to take a lot more polishing up. He'd never been that good at it anyway. Stuff like that was more down Vexen's alley - maybe Demyx as well, though he couldn't say for sure, he'd never seen him actually do anything.

In any case, he had to get out of this situation - the simplest way would be to use the Corridors, but that would undoubtedly put this person on edge, and he'd lose his chance to investigate the castle. He knew about the committee that kept things in order around Radiant Garden, and he didn't want to run into any trouble with them. They were Sora's friends after all, they shouldn't have to fight. He wondered how Riku had managed to run about dressed as a bad guy for so long - maybe he was a little tougher than he'd given him credit for.

Now he could see her clearer in the moonlight, he saw that she was just a girl - not that much older than himself. Pale skin, green eyes, long brown curls tied in a ribbon. For some reason, there was something in the way she held herself that gave the impression of one much older, much wiser. He decided that this would be a very frightening person to face when angry.

In any case, angry or not, he had to figure out how to extract himself from this predicament.

'I... no, I came here to find something,' he said, hoping the answer wasn't evasive enough to perk any negative curiosity. 'It's not something you can find anywhere else... I think. I'm... I guess you could say I'm trying to find the beginning of a story. It's umm... complicated.'

He gave a sigh. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you or anything.'

How am I going to search now? Great going, genius. Now you're gonna have to start from square minus one.

[dustywawa]

[[ooc: Ok, I fixed the post!]]

The voice Aerith heard coming from the black coat was masculine in a sense but wasn't too rough and gruff. It sounded like a teenage boy just fresh from his voice changing. Amused by this, Aerith decided that she would trust the figure for the moment and listen to why he was wandering about without much doubt about his intentions. Although he seemed nervous and uncertain of himself, Aerith felt that they could help one another. She nodded accepting his story and was honestly interested in helping the boy hoping that maybe this boy would help lead to some discoveries of her own if she helped him out

"Well," she began trying carefully to formulate her sentences without sounding pretentious or ,on the other hand, totally oblivious either, "You've come to the right place then, I guess. This here is the library." Aerith stretched her arm in the general direction of the door leading to the stacks of knowledge hidden away in the books.

She turned for a second to further contemplate whether she really should let this stranger pour through the information. "He hasn't done anything to make me distrust him, but then again I have no idea who this is either." Aerith shot the figure a quick look before turning back to continue her silent conversation. "Well, he could prove useful. Maybe he knows some things about this castle that I don't. He got here all by himself after all and was searching for something specific only found within the castle. Firmly deciding her position on the matter, Aerith calmly turned back to the figure.

"Oh you're not a bother at all, ugh..." she faltered realizing that he was in fact nameless to her. Blushing slightly at this error, Aerith tousled her hair round her hand. "Oops, how rude of me. I'm Aerith, one of the heads of the Restoration Committee here at Radiant Garden." Before she let the hooded figure in the door, she outstretched herself in it with her arms reaching up to the corners and stretching her legs to make herself fill the doorway. "Now the questions is, 'Who are you?'" It's only courtesy now that I've introduced myself for you to do the same, and I am being super nice by allowing you to come into this top secret area."

Aerith knew that the the library was not "top secret" and that she was being a bit childish ,but she was desperately wanting to know who the figure was. She giggled a bit as she waited for his response; if he was nice she would help him help her find information. If he was mean, well then she wasn't quite sure what she was going to do.

[Kuu]

'Me? I...'

This lady seemed to be hellbent on making things as awkward for him as possible. How could he tell her his real name? It would merely take a simple namedrop in a conversation with Sora and then the whole game would be blown. He should've thought more about this - leaving his precious anonymity to the cover of a hood was highly unwise. He couldn't just come up with a name of someone he knew either, cos everybody he knew were either Sora's friend or mortal enemy. One huge drawback to sharing memories.

In any case, he needed to come up with something to say, or otherwise Aerith would get increasingly suspicious, making his investigation all the more difficult. But what name could he offer? There had to be one that Sora wouldn't recognise, somewhere amongst the millions of people he'd met. But then, of course, Sora usually remembered everyone. As Roxas racked his brains for something, anything to offer, a single word drifted unbidden from the depths of his memories...

Xion.

Roxas started slightly. Where did that come from? He didn't recognise it off the top of his head, and he couldn't remember where he might have got it from... but hey, it was a name, it would do the job.

'Xion,' he said. 'That's my name.'

Hmm. Definitely couldn't put a face to it, even though somewhere inside, there was a fleeting twinge of familiarity at its sound. He might have to have a look at that later. For now, he had to deal with the issues at hand.

'Anyway, thanks for... you know, letting me look around,' said 'Xion', frowning slightly under the hood. 'It's pretty dark in here though. If we're going to have a better look, then we'll probably need some light.'

He held out his hand and allowed a ball of light to coalesce in his palm. He looked up as it rose to the ceiling, bathing the room in its pale silver radiance. Much better.