*cycle.

At a thirty-two degree angle tilt of his head, Clear paused in the petering light of the crowd, voices and stranger’s forms innocuously losing their forms in sequences to something else. Transfixed by the tinge of compartmentalization, an indecisive period where he’d almost taken as deafness, then it occurred. A flash flood of noise. A curious sound slipping out in sharp, concise snatches — the methodical plunk, plunk, plunk — the death rattle of hail on a tin roof, maybe, or skipped stones streaking across a shallow pond. It’s nothing extraordinarily beautiful, but it enraptured — and the compulsion was there in the bloodstream, the hair-trigger impulse to discern where it was, amidst the celebratory din of every participant with at least five dollars to their name in Baselia Plaza.

And he catches sight of her, bright hair and face turned heavenward, not at the epicenter of the sun striking ground but somewhere infinitely more illuminating, because she was fixated, same as him, at the sight of pebbles held buoyant in the air. No rhyme or reason, barely a noncommittal sign that she’d caught onto his presence — it was a solitary audience of two, and in he stood, shell-shocked, progressing from disbelief to wonder to elation in one pronounced, chirping laugh. “Wooooooow ~ ! How dazzling!” Clear lithely hops forward to precariously balance on the rocks surrounding the pool, taking great caution not to accidentally slosh ankle-deep into the water, and perches down next to her.

He was a strange-looking man that seemed to be balancing from stone to stone. Mana briefly wondered how he was still standing uptight and not falling into the pond... he must have some amazing balance. But it seemed that his attentions were solely towards her, or to be more specific, the floating rocks above her hands. Well, in retrospect, that wouldn't be surprising. Mana herself would be the first to crowd around a person in her position, showing off a rather unusual ability that seemed unheard of. But strangely, it was kind of funny to hear him associate her to a magician. She herself had those same thoughts.

With a small laugh, she began to answer his question. "Funny story about that, mister. All this just happened a few seconds ago." she said, holding out one of her hands towards him. The crystal-like pebbles that were hovering above that particular hand moved as she did, never moving away from their hovering position above her palm. "I don't think I can teach you what even I don't know. But it would be cool if I can." she answered with another laugh. Imagine her teaching such a thing to other people. What a riot!

Hijiri kicked at the grass; luck wasn’t on his side because that didn’t miraculously lead him to finding his sandal. “I panicked real bad when I saw Ochazuke up there in that tree and just kicked my sandals off. Guess one of ‘em snuck away.”

He ran both hands through his hair. Repeatedly. By the time he stopped, his hair was a puffy mess. “The train back home has a no-shirt, no-shoes policy, so I’ll be stuck here if I don’t find that sandal.”

He trudged back over to the girl and gently tapped Ochazuke on the chin with a finger. “How do you feel about roughing it?”

The discovery of his newfound ability had been serendipity at its purest. Upon attempting to learn of theories concerning multiple planes of existence, Joshua had found several needed books within the library to be out of reach. It was only after an impatiently stretched hand gently fell to his side in defeat that the sheer power of will lifted his body as if in compensation, successfully providing the required height to grab what untouched reports he wanted.

To gain the information he wished based on his memories, he had to use the power gifted to him through these memories; it was laughable, pleasantly so.

Almost, dare he say, as laughable as the expression painted in the palest shade of skin on the face of his unexpected witness.

There were many things to wonder about it, and she was intrigued by all of it. But with all of the excitement over such a little thing, perhaps it was time to do a mundane thing. Something that Mana found relatively normal before... just for a slight change of pace. And so, Mana went to the library, something that she didn't bother to do during her little adventure.

As she moved from aisle to aisle in search for a book that caught her eye, with a little impatient step to be honest, she had finally stopped in the middle of one. But it wasn't a book that had caught her eye, no... it was the sight of a boy floating in the air, as if in flight. Scarlet eyes widened in awe of the sight, only broken by the sound of the boy talking to her. At the sound of his question, Mana only smiled.

"Yeah, I’m from Paralia, too." He smiled slightly and felt his mood brighten. He was feeling kind of bummed about the entire situation. It was bad enough that he didn’t really have anyone back home who would miss him, but being displaced was unsettling regardless. It was a curious thing that they were both from Paralia and woke up in Kairos. Was someone behind all this or was it some strange phenom?

The girl suggested going to the train station while Toriko’s mind was trying to unravel the mystery behind their situation, although he wasn’t paying full attention he agreed:

"Great! We'll go back home together then." she replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she looked on towards the direction of the station. Surely someone back home would notice someone so tall be missing and ask questions. If Mana would guess, her own family would probably be up and trying to fine her right this minute. There were many questions to keep in mind, but at the moment Mana would just rather go back home and think on it later.

As she got closer, faint noises were heard- huh, old timer’s music? Finally close enough to take a peep inside the hole, it reminded her of those old black and white films. Poor quality, yet she was able to make out what was in there. Inside, people dressed in 1920’s fashion danced to the record player that helplessly spun around on the needle. What was this? A different era, a different world… If only she could project a larger view, then perhaps the answer would be clearer. Maybe a little too clear though.

Light tingles were felt on the tips of her fingers, and just like that, she attempted to rip open it with her bare hands. Migraines were given, though once she succeeded she was able to see a whole new different universe through this… window. This was more than fascinating- this was simply incredible, yet frightening. Once flinching, the portal promptly shrunk back to its original size. What… what was that? What was she? This wasn’t something a normal person should be able to do.

Needing some place to escape from everything, Elizabeth frantically arrived at the plaza. She made her way through the crowd until she stumbled upon a nearby pond. Catching her breath, near her stood another that seemed to be skipping stones until- well, until that happened.

Could this day get any odder? First her, then this person who was able to make things levitate in thin air? It almost felt like she was in those superhero movies, with the absence of the hero’s presence.

Mana couldn't hide her awe of it all. She never could do such a thing before... so how was she possibly doing it now? She brought her hands down slightly, and the floating rocks seemed to move down with her. Mana then parted her hands slightly to see what would happen, and she saw parts of the group of rocks follow one hand and another part following the other. For a while, it seemed Mana was entranced by this new phenomenon that she somehow created. At least until she heard someone's voice.

"...eh?" Turning her head, Mana had noticed a young woman standing not far from where she was. It took a minute for her to process her question. She was still trying to understand the... floating rocks above her hands. Blinking at her, she looked back at the blue crystals still floating above her hands for a moment before turning her attention back to the woman to answer her question. "Not really. It looks like it, doesn't it?" she replied. "Actually, it's a funny story. This just happened a second ago. I've never done this before." Mana chuckled then. It was half-hearted, but there was an amusing part to it all that made her chuckle a little.

"...it'd really be cool if I really was a magician, though." she says.

"Um… it’s…" Toriko scratched the back of his head and realized that he didn’t have a proper way to spin his story. His predicament was pretty much the same as hers. "Well, I’m in the same boat. I woke up in an apartment that isn’t mine…"

Mana's expression of confusion settled down into deep thought. It didn't sound like the guy was lying, or he didn't seem to be her theorized kidnapper... what do kidnappers think about anyway? Mana didn't quite know... but one thing that seemed to add up was that the same thing happened to the both of them, and said event was a rather peculiar one to happen in the first place. Hell, Mana was still in her pajamas, technically. If they just poofed out of thin air... nah, even for Mana that sounded too crazy.

"...are you from Paralia, mister?" she then asked, trying to make some common connections. A little something that she picked up from her father. "I'm from there, and suddenly I end up at a penthouse downtown. Pretty strange, huh? Sure, my house looks a little more modern than the ranches, but my family's not rich." Mana didn't really care about things like that normally, but the setting was particularly weird. Why a rich looking place above all else?

½ = How the character feels about people taller or shorter than them

± = The character and what they think about math

† = How the character feels about murder

@ = How the character appears online

¥ = How the character handles money or spends it

° = The character’s temperature preferences 

æ = The character and languages (Known or Want to Learn)

↔ = The character’s ability to read directions

♥ = Character’s preference for relationships (sexuality, type of person, etc.)

zzz= What time the character enjoys sleep or being awake

☂ = Weather the character enjoys

♪ = What music the character likes

( =①ω①=) = What animals the character likes and if they have a pet/pets

(・∀・ ) = The character’s emotional state most of the time

☆～（ゝ。∂）= How the character greets people

⊙﹏☉ = What flusters the character

(≧∇≦) = What makes the character happy

(/□＼*)・゜ = What makes the character blush

(;╹⌓╹) = What scares the character

（；へ：） = What makes the character cry

(´ q ` ” ) = The character’s “guilty” pleasure

（・□・；） = What makes the character uncomfortable

(*^◇^)_旦 = What the character likes to eat and drink

｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡ = What makes the character laugh

(´；Д；｀) = What worries the character

(⑅ ‘﹃’ ) = What the character daydreams or thinks about

"Yeah. There were a lot of kids that played it; adults too, so no-one ever complained about age being an issue" he sounded brightly. His movements slackened to a snail’s pace at the comment about the children she was acquainted with, brushing it off with a sunny smile and a small tilt, the movement flicking the tips of his hair to one side before bouncing back. "You might feel that’s the case, but there are plenty of loops that you’re in and those things are important to treasure. Spreading yourself too thin could take up more of your time than you were bargaining for".

He’d hope the meaning behind his words came across, even in such a disorganized state. Conversation wasn’t his strong point, but he had to make an effort to try. His hands were busy gathering up as many of the scattered cards as possible, hoping not to trouble her too much and take up her time assisting, not that he wasn’t incredible grateful that she had also removing them from the grass, listening to her answer with intrigue.

"I guess we’re both collectors in a way, though I haven’t anything as elegant as shells. Your home must be filled with all kinds of wonders, surrounded by so many things that got your heart beating with excitement when you found it. U- Um… i- if that’s right, of course. I wouldn’t want to assume.

Oh, thank you!” His hands cupped the remaining cards, combining the two stacks and quick to count up. Fifty cards; not a single one missing.

Mana blinked again as she listened to him speak, eyebrows raised as she tilted her head sightly. "Wonders? Ah, you haven't been to Paralia before have you?" she asked. Mana wasn't going to lie, she was a little amused by that comment, just as she was a little amused by this conversation. "I guess it can seen that way if you haven't been there. It has a lot of beaches all around it that you could walk around in... with sandals of course. I do it all the time when I'm bored." she said.

Judging from the look on his face, it seemed like they got every card that he needed, so that was good. Mana didn't expect for him to bow in front of her though. She shook her head in assurance. "Oh, no problem. It's the least I could do since you gave me my ball." she said. He was a rather polite guy, this Sendou Aichi. Maybe even overly so, but Mana didn't seem to mind too much.

"Yes, you’re quite right." Vincent crooked his head, a subtle nod in return. "I’m unsure of how may people follow such an idea, though." Outside of him, that was. Manipulation was an easy game next to chess, both relying on the concept of reading another’s moves and planning ahead. If there was one thing he excelled at, it was that.

Her smile is filled with curiosity and naivety, a combination Vincent internally shudders at. Instead, he masked such a thing with a smile of his own, if for completely different reasons. "That’s good to hear. Most seem to think the game’s boring, even when I mention that fact."

A boring game, he says? Ooh, well that was a disappointing thought. Now there was a chance that Mana would get bored of this game with her time wasted. And being that she was a girl that can have fleeting interests most of the time, this would be an easy chance for her to become bored while playing. "But I should just play the game to find out for myself, hm? I've been interested this long, after all." she says with ease. In the end, it really was that simple to think about.

Her hands laced together behind her back as she watched him set the game board, watching the many pieces go into what she assumes to be their correct spots. On her side, she had white pieces. And on his, he had black. She had smiled briefly in understanding, before taking her seat on her respected side. It was then that she looked up at the man at the sound of introductions being made. "Nice to meet you, Vincent. I'm Mana." she introduced in return.