m i r r o r

Maybe that’s what has him settling comfortably, what’s diminished his sense of urgency that typically heightens in dangerous circumstances. The thing is, he just can’t help it. If it shouldn’t be okay that his best friends are here and that they’re all stuck together, someone should make it a little clearer. He’s been through a delusion once already, and if it weren’t for an entirely empathetic and comprehensive best friend to pry him out, it’s difficult to imagine that his body would still belong to him. "I can’t talk for anyone else, but I’m used to this sorta thing."

At least with that out in the open, it doesn’t seem like this massive elysian park has taken ahold of him with his consent. Frankly, it just could be worse and he wants to appreciate what’s been laid out on a silver platter to the best of his ability. "That’s pretty dedicated. Do all huntresses stay up all night when this kinda stuff happens?” Sounds like a lot of work - not that his endurance isn’t conditioned to last a similar amount of time. 

If worse comes to worst, he can handle anything. Except her mention of the area he’s (unfortunately) covered, and can vouch for as the worst thing this place has to offer. “Right… I dunno about ridiculous, but I’d steer clear if I were you.” Considering he’s too late to put himself in the shoes of possibility, it’s all about looking in hindsight. "Never thought about it that way. We could give it a shot if you wanna!" 

"How exactly do you get used to this?" she asked, genuinely curious. If there was some method she could learn, that would be fantastic. It would speed up her training just a tiny bit more if it was something she could do. Even in the midst of all that was happening, she still wanted to focus at least a little bit on her studies. Just because she had disappeared didn't mean Beacon stopped running. That would be absurd.

She thought back to the amount of sleepless nights she'd had in the past, definitely not because of duty or her own accord. Shaking her head, she said, "No. I mean, we remain vigilant and sometimes we have to do night-watch, but most of the time we're just in our dorms back in school. I guess we have more stamina, but that hardly counts at the moment. There's no fighting to do, after all." With no creatures of Grimm to kill there was really no purpose in her being here.

She raised an eyebrow at his certainty, but she guessed that was a good thing in a sense. "From what I've heard about it it's ridiculous. I'd never go in there myself..." She could just imagine the ways that place could mess with her, from showing her fake images to making her hear sounds of tragedies way back in when in Vale. It was probably just her imagination, and besides, she hadn't even been in the place yet. How was she to know what it was all about? "I think it sounds like a good idea. Using people as target isn't a good idea. The robots will have to do."

Is that really such a great surprise? With Riku and Kairi here, it’s… well, hard to find downsides other than the haunted escape that dulls the mind and mutes the instincts. Having experienced it first-hand, it goes without saying that he hardly made it out unscathed. What’s one to expect from an area so massive if one park alone can leave that kind of mark on the height of optimism? "Not even a little?" Disbelief colors his features. How is she so fully functional? 

Strange, yeah, but not impossible. He’s been trying to avoid a nightmare or two, himself. In order to steer clear of the terrors that call his head a pleasant haunt, the wielder’s put forth a little more effort than usual to stir in his sleep. Evading the deeper stages and the remnants of his horrific experiences tie in together all too well. All too conveniently, and it’s a ploy too far in for the younger male to even consider. "Maybe I’ve got it easy."

He’s not boastful; in situations like these, there’s nothing to brag about. "A huntress? Cool…” Even if he’s not sure what that entails, it doesn’t sound like one undeserving of his respect. "Been, y’know, looking around. Have you seen this place? Not like you can get out with a ‘please and thank you’!” By then, all he can do is summon the keyblade and do his best to prove a point. 

Weiss didn't know anyone here. No, that was a lie. She had met people, made a couple of acquaintances, but there was no one from Remnant that she had found, or at least not yet. Anyone that could give her at least a small sense of home, just a little bit, would be perfect in her eyes. Not that she would share that with them, of course. At least not until she had reached the level of perfection she aspired to herself. Vanity and arrogance really was an issue with her, among many other things, but all she saw was confidence.

"Not even a little," she confirmed, shifting her weight to her other foot. "Some people are just way too calm about this. Where's their sense of caution? The only time I'll be able to get sleep is either when I'm out of here or when my eyes drop and bam, I've passed out in the middle of the street." Her tone and pitch of voice was enough to make someone wince. At least there wasn't anyone about to make a scene in front of.

She would have to get used to people not knowing what a huntress was, but at least Sora seemed to realize what an honour it was to be one, or something like that. "Yes, a huntress. Very cool." She smirked a little, thankful for some kind of recognition. "As long as I don't have to go into that Haunted place I'll be fine. That place looks ridiculous." She wasn't scared, of course not. "Those robots in the bad part of Tomorrow Land look like good combat practice targets, though."

"And we have one of the less weird floors, you say? My, my…” At that, it’s impossible for her countenance to not betray her renewed amusement as regards the present circumstances. The magnificently realistic view of the cosmos was a great wonder in itself, not to mention the apparent inclusion of anti-gravity switches to the architecture of their room (any doubt that that much might be a joke is dismissed immediately, knowing her roommate’s apparent narrow humour already) — but for her then to speculate, or even outright assert that they’ve been granted a comparatively normal set-up here—

Well, no doubt a lesser woman might have actually laughed at the idea, whereas she prides herself on her reserved hilarity.

The mental image of Weiss’s previous mishap with the inexplicable switch is almost enough to push her over the threshold, if truth be told, though she ultimately maintains composure as she seems to wave away any associated worries. "Worry not. I’m increasingly poised to think the purpose of the switch is in fact for one roommate to make the other the victim of her joke, but it is less fun if you already anticipate the effects of the trick." All this she says without a hint of shame, and with an unnerving twinkle in her eye too: whether she’s bluffing or not is as indiscernible as the rest of her motive here.

If nothing else, however, Yukari settles to humour the other’s seeming unfamiliarity with the moon — this moon, anyway. Genuinely intrigued, she’s to edge closer to the other as she draws out a photograph, and thenceforth (for now) manages to hold a sincere expression.

"Well, the other floors are, from what I've heard, some sort of mystery maze where you have to navigate your way to your room is the first floor, the second floor is some kind of weather controlled habitat, there's a dragon on the third floor you have to fight, and the fourth is some kind of magic thing. Now a sixth one's opened up and it's based on some fairy tale I know nothing about!" Her words grew louder and louder as she let out her frustrations, annoyed with this place for being so flashy, of all things. It was hardly practical, and if anything it was just supposed to force it upon them that this place was strange and there was no getting out.

At Yukari's theory, she narrowed her eyes. If this woman was planning to make a fool out of her, she'd be sorry. That's what she thought, at the very least, though she seldom withheld from taking the bait when antagonized. Many of her words were used for arguing, but she could be quite gullible in other areas. She pretended as if she was not, though those who knew her could easily push her buttons. It was a real problem she hadn't cared to fix.

Crossing her legs, she snapped, "I hope you don't plan on doing anything to me. I have a weapon, you know." Only half true, as her sword was missing, but one misplaced step from the other woman and the entire room could be blown to smithereens. Dust was useful that way, and she had quite a lot of it. Those were the perks of having a family owned dust company.

Instead of tucking the photograph away, she placed the frame on the bedside table so it faced her. If she had to spend the rest of her days here, she was going to decorate at least a little bit. She deserved that much. Besides, she didn't want to forget her friends if they never arrived here.

Inevitably, the first few moments of actual eye-contact are spent scrutinising this roommate of hers. She holds a certain air about her, or so it appears. Curt, likely not especially enthusiastic to humour the unknown and and unnatural…

And discerning this much, Yukari has to share a strange smile with herself. She might yet have some fun teasing the poor thing.

Nevertheless, she knows now that they can agree on one matter immediately: “—Mm, I don’t pause to think something was a little too loose and free within the mind of the architect. His ambition, for one,” and on this she dwells for but a moment before news of an anti-gravity switch registers. Although at least half genuine in her wonder, her eyes widen to such an extent to suggest mockery, “But I knew not of any such switch. I’m inclined to wonder why more than I am how, myself — and even then, logic might yet elude us.”

Ultimately, however, she dismisses the matter with a graceful flutter of her hand. The notion of fiddling with the switch whenever she has an idle moment plants itself as a seed now; otherwise, she occupies herself with formalities.

She had to give the architect at least that. The dedication that probably went into making this building, well, she could empathize with that. The feeling of reaching for a goal and finally achieving it was marvelous, but not as important as the journey one made to get there.

"I see what you mean. They had to be pretty creative to think all of this up, and we've got one of the less weird floors," she said, remembering the descriptions of the five other floors. "It's the one next to the light switch, but don't you dare press it when I'm in here. I already had a mishap with it once. I don't need to relive that experience, thanks. But you bring up a good point. The 'why'. It's an inefficient device to have in a hotel room. When are we ever going to need it?"

The woman seemed to come from somewhere other than Remnant, apparently, just judging by the way she looked, conducted herself, and her name. Plus, there was the whole moon thing. As someone who had never seen the moon full, even when the cycle was complete, she was very curious how this realm of space worked. Explaining her own circumstances would probably have to come first, though.

"It's not that there's anything wrong with it. Well, I mean, technically. It's just that from where I'm from the moon looks different." She was about to explain exactly what its appearance was when she figured it would probably be easier to show rather than tell. Rummaging through her belongings, she took out a picture, one of her and her teammates with the moon behind them -- the crescent similar to a regular (or whatever regular was here) moon while beside it was the second half, shattered and broken in the sky.

Her eyes narrowed as he lectured her on the many names he had taken on in his lifetime, true or not. She called no one by those names and had no interest in starting now. Whoever this person was definitely wasn't above her, or at least she didn't think he looked the part. Heck, most of the people around here didn't look like they even lived in Remnant, and the way they acted was out of this world. Or, perhaps, not out of this world, just out of her world, which she seemed to have left for a far away land.

"Someone's full of themselves, but if we're going to introduce ourselves that way I've been known as 'My Lady', 'Heiress' or, simply, Weiss." She decided to leave out the less than flattering nicknames given to her by her fellow students.

Despite the criticism against her actions, she remained where she was, never the type to back down from a verbal (or physical, for that matter) fight. "I'd hardly call this a paradise, you dolt. Have you even seen half of these attractions? They might look pretty on the outside, but if you dig down deeper they're horrid. Some of us have schools and homes to get back to. I have a job to do." 

A view of boundless space is nothing much new for she who has the ability to shift boundaries as she wills. But a view of boundless space from as mundane a place as her bedroom window is, she would confess, a quaint novelty.

Indeed, upon arriving to her designated room, the scenery framed by the window of the hotel room had her - if only momentarily - in a state of mild bemusement. She had decided to be reasonable this first time, having entered the security code as instructed rather than shamelessly making her own way in — she has always been quite accustomed to having a spacious living space to herself, so all this should be delightfully new for her. At that time, she had been under the impression that it would be this having of a ‘roommate’ only that would take some getting used to: it would be an experience, if more mundane than anything else.

It takes her but a glance through the windows for her to be otherwise distracted, of course.

What does work in her favour, it seems, is that she arrives to an empty room. Obviously lived in by another already, granted, but this stranger roommate is presently absent as she quickly takes to making herself at home. She fills her time alone with idle reverie and occasional reflections on their impossible view. When the other enters, however, they are to find her amidst a show of contemplation at the windows, seated nonchalantly upon a chair-shaped absence.

"The moon was stolen once, and concealed behind one false… I wonder, are these stars stolen too, as brilliantly true they look? If so, you have to admire the architect’s passion for his art in creating a beautiful view for little old us— Although I hesitate to open the window to let a bit of air in. Even so, I would say it’s a fair price to pay."

She leaned against the door frame, arms folded as she listened to the girl speak. What on earth was she playing at, speaking as if she was the human embodiment of a poetry book. It was something her mother would read, and although she knew whoever this was probably didn't mean to startle her, her guard was too high up from traveling around all day to relax. She opened her mouth to question what this woman was doing in her room, but then she remembered she was supposed to have a roommate.

And this was her? Oh, god. Now she really missed Beacon.

"The architect is nuts," she said, breaking the enchanting atmosphere the girl seemed to be alluding to. "Why would you build a place like this, and how do you install an anti-gravity switch? That is so beyond the realms of proper logic, but here we are." She sighed and sat on her bed, the one furthest away from the girl. "Whatever. I'm Weiss, by the way. Your roommate, if that wasn't obvious. I'm guessing you've also got a name?"

It was times like these that she longed for a place familiar to her own, such as her bunk beds back at Beacon, or even her queen sized bed back at her family's estate. As comfortable as this bed was, it was strange to her. It wasn't like home, and what was what she needed. That, and the fact that this 'space' looked nothing like the information they had about it in Remnant, her eyes drawn to the obvious contradiction.

“Work here? Nu-uh!” While he isn’t necessarily offended, the crossing of his arms doesn’t express that quite so well. "I just got here a few days ago. Guess that means you don’t work here, either." This leaves them at a stand-still, an impasse of sorts where they’re not going to progress unless they decide on a goal of some sort.

Sora’s just not one to think like that - rather, he’s used to asking for a name or if there’s a method of assistance he might be able to offer. Unfortunately, it’s not always bound to come together as neatly as it might outside of a confined area. 

She scoffed, indignant. "Of course I don't work here. I'm a huntress, not a carny." Her arms crossed, almost copying his actions as if trying to outdo him. It wouldn't surprise her if she was. "I got here literally yesterday, and I hardly slept a wink." As comfortable as the bed in her room was, she missed her bunk beds at Beacon, and she doubted anyone could sleep properly in a strange place such as this. Only with one eye open could she even begin to drift off.

At his words, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't that much smaller than her, but it was enough for her to believe he was relatively powerless, unaware of how wrong she really was. He really did look like a kid, though she had been wrong about thinking that way before if Ruby was anything to go by. (She was honestly starting to miss her partner and the rest of her team, but she couldn't think about that now).

While searching for the bench, she found herself looking at the booths as she passed.  It seemed like an ordinary theme park at first glance, a simpler version than the one she had seen in the Emerald City, but upon further study, Elphaba was worried about how safe she really was.  Between the workers, no apparent exit, and everyone other than those workers having no idea how they arrived there, she was starting to worry about what would happen to all of them.  And whether or not Glinda had found herself there as well.

A girl wearing a lot of white, and with white hair, was approaching her, and Elphaba saw that she was clearly angry.  Not that she could blame anyone in this situation for being angry, of course.  But she could blame someone for kicking something over onto her foot.  And when this girl asked about her skin, she sighed and shook her head.  Not this again.

She hardly registered the discomfort of the woman in front of her, having never been the most polite person in the world. Her parents always spoke to her frankly, asking rude questions, though she had never realized it at a time. From a young age she had been taught to wonder about people who were different from her, but the way her parents showed this to her wasn't the most ideal way. Pushy and rude was all they stood for, really, other than the whole dust company shabang, but most people saw through that anyway.

"I'm not just asking anyone about their skin colour. Do you see anyone else with green skin around here? Do you really blame me for asking? Not all of us are used to green people walking around everywhere, you know," she said, tone still irritated (and probably irritating to anyone around her, as well). "I'm also trying to find a way out of this stupid place, or at least a person who can tell me how to get out. I don't have time to stay here and goof off. I have responsibilities to get back to."