(no subject)

[imaginarytides]

Who: Xion and whoever else finds her
Where: The ferris wheel
When: late afternoon/evening
What: Xion's just come across Caden's body, shock ensues
Style: I'll match whatever
Status: Open

After the ordeal that was yesterday's evening outing, Xion decides to head in the opposite direction, hoping for something maybe a bit less eventful. When she came across the carnival it seemed like a great place to kill a few hours, even if she was alone. Carnival rides and games are something she hasn't tried before, and Xion makes a mental note to ask her friends to come with her next time.

The carnival provides the exact kind of distraction Xion was looking for, at least until she comes upon the ferris wheel. It doesn't take her long to notice what's wrong.

She doesn't know whose body it is strung up, or who would be so cruel as to put it there in the first place. Regardless, she's at a loss for what to do now that she's found him.

 

Comments

BUSTS IN!!

[bufudine]

Instead of his usual leisurely walk, Serph had run to the Amusement Park, and it's not long until he spots Squall. He sees an unfamiliar girl with Squall, though. The person who found the body, perhaps? Speaking of which, where is it? He expects it to be somewhere nearby on the ground or something.

He approaches and gives both a nod in greeting. Since he remembers how people had been during the April Fool's murder, he asks, "Are you two alright?"

[imaginarytides]

"Nowhere is perfect I guess."

Her response is a bit forlorn. Xion doesn't have time to dwell on it however before another stranger approaches. She can only assume it's another of the Defense Force.

She answers the newcomer with a small, "I'll be fine."

[unshelledbullet]

First, on pure instinct alone, Squall starts to give the SeeD salute, but catches himself and stops. Instead, he nods back to Serph because that's how military protagonists roll. "Serph." Wasting no time, he gestures in the direction of the corpse. "It's over there."

Way over there.

[bufudine]

Serph gives the girl a nod in acknowledgement, though she doesn't sound like she'll be fine just yet, before following the direction of Squall's gesture. He looks up.

... And up...

...... That looks really troublesome to get down, especially on foot. Alright.

Serph turns his attention to the other two. "I'll have Cielo bring the body to the clinic for an autopsy." To Squall, he says, "Take her somewhere else." After a pause, he adds, "The weather's nice at the beach."

Actually it isn't; it's cold up on the island. But Serph has a warped idea of 'nice weather'.

He's making a mental note to speak to the girl another day, when there aren't dead people ruining the conversation.

[imaginarytides]

She's far from fine at the moment, but it's what she'll keep telling herself to keep from feeling completely useless in this situation.

As she listens, she raises an eyebrow at the word beach. She hasn't made her way to the island yet and has been hesitant to use the elevator not knowing where it led.

Regardless of that, Xion looks between the two, unsure of what to say. She's obviously going to be more helpful out of the way than anything.

[unshelledbullet]

It's not that Squall finds the idea of handling dead bodies appealing in any way but...Serph. Really? You want him to take her to the beach and help her get her mind off this? He's not you, Serph, he doesn't have your uncanny innate ability to socialize with people.

Sigh, fine. He turns to Xion.

"You want to go to the beach?"

AND BUSTS OUT! Have fun on the cold beach, kids :>

[bufudine]

Shut up, Squall. You can handle a little socialisation. Serph believes in you!

That said, Serph just gives both of them a nod in farewell and starts walking towards the Ferris wheel.

[imaginarytides]

Xion stands and watches him go before turning to Squall.

"I didn't know we had one."

There's an encouraging hint of curiosity in her voice. She doesn't know if it's anything like the beaches on Destiny Islands, but as odd as she thinks it is it might be what she needs right now.

[unshelledbullet]

"I'll take you then." Even if she didn't want to, he'd have to drag her somewhere. The beach is as good a place as any. He motions for Xion to follow him as he heads towards the exit of the amusement park.

[imaginarytides]

And follow she does. A silence settles in as she goes, and she's left with only her own thoughts to focus on. Not wanting to dwell on the morbidity of the murder, although she's certain it will come up again later, the only thing she can come up with is that niggling feeling of familiarity she got from Squall when he arrived.

Voicing it makes her nervous however. She's certain she's never met him before, and if she isn't remembering him from any of her own memories it can only mean one thing.

So after what may or may not have been Xion absentmindedly staring him down while she works this all out in her head, she looks away briefly before simply asking, "Is the beach nice?"

[unshelledbullet]

"It's okay I guess," Squall answers. He rarely goes up to the island himself and it's been a while since he was last on the surface. Back in his world, he lived somewhere that was just a short distance away from the shore, so seeing the ocean was a common occurrence for him.

Reaching the elevator, he asks the Station Master to give them a lift. Conversation. Conversation, UH.

"Do you like beaches?"

[imaginarytides]

"I do. I've got a lot of fond memories of one back home."

Nevermind most of those memories aren't hers.

Following him onto the elevator, Xion notices the awkward silence and isn't sure how to break it. Her companion is clearly not much if a conversationalist, and frankly, Xion's not in the right mind to try an fix that either.

[unshelledbullet]

What does he say now? 'Hope this one lives up to your expectations?' No, that sounds both stupid and sarcastic. He's trying. He really is. As a leader, he needs to know how to communicate with people.

Communication is hard.

"I'm Squall, by the way," he says before the elevator doors open. Yes, introductions are always a nice place to start.

Except he probably should have said that first.

Communication is hard.

[imaginarytides]

"I'm Xion. It's nice to meet you."

Introductions are easy,even out of order. It's not like she's paying much attention to typical social courtesies anyway.

"...you don't have to do this often, do you?"

Despite how meekly she asks, the bluntness of the question leaves her internally cringing as soon as she says it.

[unshelledbullet]

He doesn't mind the bluntless. He's a social failure and he knows it.

"You're right, I don't," he replies. "I'm not used to this kind of thing."

The beach is a little cold - Serph, this is not nice beach weather - but his jacket does a fine job of keeping him warm.

"So what do you think of this beach?"

[imaginarytides]

She looks over the shore, wrapping her arms around herself to keep out the chill. her coat does a fine enough job of keeping her warm, but she certainly wasn't expecting a cold beach.

"It's great, but I think your friend has a weird idea of 'nice weather.'"

[unshelledbullet]

"He has lots of weird ideas." Of course, Squall knows the reason why, but they're not here to talk about Serph and how strange he is. He looks out to the rolling waves. Even on a cold day, it's kind of nice. He supposes. "There's a beach near where I lived in my world."

[imaginarytides]

"Was it anything like this?"

The one she remembers was always sunny and warm. Even with this one being as different as it is, the rolling waves are just as relaxing.

[unshelledbullet]

"No, it was always infested with monsters."

Which made it a great training ground, but hardly suited for relaxing.

[imaginarytides]

"Monsters?"

Xion wants to guess there's some kind of story behind that.

[unshelledbullet]

"Just the local wildlife," he answered. If it weren't for the monsters, it would actually be a nice place for people to relax. Instead, it was a place for students to hone their skills. "There's plenty of dangerous creatures where I come from."