aterat | June/July Open Top Levels

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June/July Open Top Levels

Who; Waver Velvet & Anyone
What; Waver shopping for teaware and spending time in the Historium
Where; The Market & The Historium
When; Late June-Early July - Afternoon for the market, late evening for the historium
Warnings; None to start, but will update if things come up
Other; Feel free to tag in however you’d like, I am happy to match action brackets if those are preferred. Also if you have any rp wishes or ideas please let me know by either PM’ing the character journal or messaging me over on discord (WhimsicalSpook)! I’m happy to write personal starters and stuff.

I. A necessary trip to the market - open to all

It was odd to see Waver out and about. Usually sightings were limited to the Historium or the Academy, with rare intermittent trips to the market to pick up the few things he needed. Which… Well, Reines would tell anyone that Waver rarely did things purely for enjoyment, so he didn’t seem to need much beyond the obvious.

Though he would argue that it wasn’t strictly true, his life was a lot busier than it had been before the lordship had been dropped on his shoulders. There was too much to do, too much to think about, and he was eternally exhausted. It wasn’t even that he did nothing for fun. He had his research and his video games, after all! And there were quite a lot of other things he used to do before everything became a chaotic tornado of messes needing to be dealt with.

Which was why he was, in fact, out on one of his rare trips to the market in search of something. The rushed, weak cup of tea he’d become accustomed to on his way out the door wasn’t really cutting it anymore, plus it was quite clear Gray (who was too kind and usually made him tea while he was working) probably wasn’t going to just show up given how long he’d been here for now…

So he was currently looking over a market table of handmade teaware thoughtfully, the frown on his face less stern and simply focused as he looked for something that suited his tastes and felt right. He doubted he would find exactly what he was looking for here, but even a nicely made teapot would do. Sometimes, after asking the stall keeper’s permission, he might pick something up to turn over in his hand and get a better look at…

So, do you bump into him accidentally? Do you spot the elusive Waver in the wild and decide to approach? Who knows, but it’s usually amusing to surprise the mage! Hopefully, he doesn’t drop anything, though…

II. A little late night reading - open to all

It was late in the evening as a certain clock tower lord slipped out the door of the red building and walked the short distance to the Historium. Originally he’d intended on spending the night in at his apartment for a change, rather than ending up in his workshop… But that hadn’t quite gone to plan, and now he needed something to focus on.

With the weather and the situation in the city, he’d been more careful about longer strolls. So actually changing plans and ending up in the harbor district was out. He wasn’t keen for a repeat after the very bad month involving wererats with whatever new creatures were being spoken of instead. Tempting as it was, sometimes was capable of making good decisions. At some point, his luck was bound to run out, after all. He already owed a handful of people for rescuing his sorry ass…

That was all to say that the Historium was his second choice in distraction. It was near enough and there were plenty of reading materials he could get lost in for however long it took to settle his mind, or at least give it something new to focus on.

Walking down aisles, he reached out to gently tug the odd book from a shelf, flipping through a few pages before closing it and tucking it under his arm. Sometimes he wondered if he might be lucky enough to stumble across some rare tomb on magecraft from his own world, but so far that was a no. Tonight he’d snagged a few varied subjects ranging from some theory on magic, from places he’d never heard of, to mystery novels, to things… decidedly not serious but curious, nonetheless. Like chocobos, given how he was one of the arrivals more used to horses and yet he noticed plenty of people found them rather normal.

Sometimes Waver was forced to stifle a yawn that betrayed his own fatigue, which usually ended with him frowning at himself for a moment. Comically it almost looked almost like he was cross with whatever bookshelf in front of him rather than the yawn. It never lasted long, before he resumed his stroll through the Historium.

Maybe you spot him sitting at one of the tables he liked to settle, or maybe you find him wandering down aisles.

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Waver's grumpiness didn't deter Terra in the slightest. He idly wondered what it would take to get him to smile at least a little more, but that wasn't anything that he was going to bring up.

Terra couldn't help but smile a little. "Well I'm glad one of us does. But okay, I might have to take you up on the offer of help at some point." Really he had no plans to, but it helped him to have someone who knew their way around here. Building things was something he was working on, because the last thing he really made was a wooden keyblade. That wasn't anything near the project he was taking on now.

He hoped that he would find some drawn plans even though the wood master had helped him out quite a bit with details and floor plan ideas. It was really just up to him to craft it and see what could be found.

What made Waver smile more was a mystery that no one really had solved yet, so most just enjoyed seeing them (or were confused by) the rare times one graced his face. At least they were mostly genuine, even if they could be born of sarcasm now and then. Under normal circumstances, being around books was a good setting for one to pop up.

“See that you do. If those don’t give you any ideas, there may be some other options around.” He responded, doubtless that he’d run into other similar books whenever he started wandering for more again. Probably in a few hours, if nothing in this pile held his attention properly. If his mind started to wander, then he’d need to find some other options himself.

The fact that Terra actually came to see what there was after their conversation was a point in his favour as far as the mage was concerned. If he was willing to follow up and make the trip here to look? Then Waver supposed it wasn’t a waste of his time to not offer to help a little and share some of his experience here.

Terra smiled. It was good to have some 'expert' help here if he needed it. And while he would never ask to be paid back for what he'd done before, it was still nice to receive some help regardless.

"Okay. Then I'll get going here, and see what I can find out." Terra also didn't want to keep the mage from his own studies because that was impolite. And if he needed ideas, he would try and locate the books by himself first, for the reason as to let the other read or rest.

Setting his pile down on the table he usually settled himself at for research purposes, he offered a brief nod in response. “Good luck, then.” He added a touch awkwardly as he pulled out a chair at the table to sit down. Drawing the top book from the stack and stifling a little yawn again as he opened it.

Whether Terra chose to sit in one of the other chairs or found a space he preferred was up to him, Waver already as comfortable as he ever was. Which… Definitely meant if Terra checked in later, he might find the guy asleep sitting up in the chair.

"Thanks." Terra replied with a smile. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be here, but he was more than ready to dig in. Not wanting to bother the other man, he sat a little bit away from him.

There wasn't any more conversation so Terra kept to himself and wrote some notes on what he wanted to do. And when he got up to see about more volumes, he noted that Waver had fallen asleep.

For a moment he wasn't sure what to do, but then he saw a quilt and walked over as quietly as he could to it. Taking that, he walked back and gently placed it on the mage, fully intending to just grab a few more books.

Terra’s gesture was very kind, and Waver didn’t stir as they draped the blanket over him. It was something his apprentice sometimes did for him back in his own world when she walked in on him sleeping at his desk. So it was something he was used to, though it would be confusing for him to wake up like this when he did and remembered she wasn’t here. It seemed that he was finally getting some much needed rest, even if it wasn’t the most normal place to catch some sleep. But a workaholic with too much in his head took it where he could get it.

Of course, sleeping didn’t necessarily mean his mind truly stopped for a few hours. No, it usually ran off on whatever trail it wanted and revisited things Waver tried to push behind him. A classroom full of jeering students and a judgemental professor, sewers full of indescribable horrors, a woman wielding a sword that unleashed blinding light destroying whatever was in it’s path, weapons shooting out of portals in the air behind a man clad in golden armor, and most recently… A chariot and lightning, things that once meant safety, warped and inspiring fear and uncertainty.

It was often a roulette wheel of what visited him behind closed eyes, so it was hard to say what finally woke him with a sharp gasp as he slipped out of his chair and onto the floor, a mess of hair and labored breathing as his mind tried to refocus on his surroundings that did not line up with what he was seeing.

As Waver slept, Terra had resolved to keep watch..at a distance. Every now and again his blue eyes would look around the corner at the man who was peacefully sleeping, or so he thought. Sleeping made someone vulnerable and he didn't want to have anything happen to the mage, so he moved around quietly when he had to get up to change books or even just to stretch and walk around a bit.

Terra had managed to acquire more books than he even thought he would look at, but they offered different ideas and he managed to find a book on Feng Shui, which went into the philosophy of placement of furniture. That made him pile on two more books, with one being called Feng Shui for Dummies and a Complete Idiot's guide on the same topic. With a smile at himself, the keyblade wielder pulled those two books off of the shelf and began to study them.

As he read page after page, he knew he was going to need to take these books along with others out to write notes and do sketches. And it was as he picked up his not needed pile to put them back when he heard a sharp gasp.

Terra poked his head around the bookshelf.

"You okay?"

The question goes unanswered for a bit, and the professor was still huddled on the floor with his hair in his face and his shoulders shaking lightly. The only answer being a harsh, frantic breathing. No, Waver was not okay. Nightmares for Waver were, unfortunately, a bitch to deal with… His eyes were unfocused and he was struggling to make sense of the very differing settings and situation he found himself in. Still half asleep and seeing somewhere else, far away from the Historium. Far from Aterat in general… But slowly there was a nagging thought trying to break through, a bit of logic that needed to take priority as he blinked and tried to make sense of the shelves of book and carpet under his feet that did not line up with the dream he’d been stuck in.

The blanket still half draped over his shoulders was confusing, a small perplexed murmur escaping. “Gray…?” But no, Gray wasn’t here. Gray couldn’t be here and he was never sure if it was better for her to not be or if he missed his apprentice’s quiet company enough that he would rather her there. “Nngh…” Escaped as a shaky hand was brought to his face to dash at his eyes. Sleep and a stray tear blurring his vision.

That bit of logic again nagging: Gray can’t be here, and the voice you just heard wouldn’t be on the train. Terra would not be on the train. You’re in Aterat, you’re not on the Rail Zeppelin and Hephaestion, or whatever her name was, isn’t coming after you.

Terra… Shit, he was in the historium. That thought was finally enough to snap him out of it and his head shot up, green eyes peering through messy, tangled strands of hair that he was hastily tried to push back (his hair was such a nuisance to take care of). “S-shit, ah… Terra.” He mumbled, “Fine, I’m fine. Give me a second.” He hastily threw out in a tone that definitely did not convey ‘fine’ as he tried to piece back together the mask that he wore. The serious, professional lord of the clock tower.

Terra watched Waver closely just wondering if there was any way that he could be of assistance here. The man seemed..was it worried? No, maybe it was something else. But was he asking about a colour? Why the mage would be asking after that, well only the man himself knew. Something was definitely off, but the keyblade wielder was pretty clueless as to what that could actually be.

He stood near the man but not that close. And while he wasn't convinced that the man was fine at all, Terra was too polite to argue. So he remained where he was, but thought to try and help in his own way.

"Is there something I can get you?"

It was decidedly a good move to not get too close. Waver’s dreams… And, well… His nightmares were extremely vivid, and it was hard sometimes to separate that from reality. A kind gesture could seem like something much less friendly in that moment. He needed time to reorient himself, to connect with the waking world properly.

As he did that, focusing on a breathing exercise in his head and noting the details of the surrounding room through messy locks of hair, he found himself relieved that there wasn’t an argument coming from Terra. He didn’t care if the man believed him or not (actually he did, this was embarrassing), and he didn’t have the energy to argue… And he would probably snap if Terra pointed out that he was lying, an unfortunate defense mechanism of his.

Shaking off the last of the sleep addled thoughts from his mind, he pushed his hair back away from his face and frowned at himself. Of all the times he’d fallen asleep in a bad place, this was probably the worst.

Could Terra get him something? Yes, his case and lighter. He needed a smoke or something to settle his nerves. His hands still had a slight tremor to them that he couldn’t quite steady… But they were in a library, and that was generally frowned upon, so he wouldn’t ask. That would have to wait long enough for him to disentangle himself from an awkward situation to escape outside. “No.” He finally offered as a response, pushing himself to his feet and ignoring how stiff he felt. “Sorry about that. Guess I dozed off.” He muttered, trying very poorly to avoid further awkwardness with the guy.

There seemed to be tense moments as Terra waited. But he'd asked his question and he wasn't going to try to prod the man for answers. Relief flooded through him to hear that Waver was alright and so that was really all that he cared about.

"It'd be easy to sleep here since it's so quiet so you don't need to apologize." Terra replied with a relieved smile. "But if you're okay, I'll get back to reading." Him hanging around while the other man decided whether to go back to sleep or go home was rude and he didn't want to crowd the mage. The man said he was fine and didn't need anything, so there was no point in hanging around, right?

Waver was safe and there was nothing wrong even if something niggled in the back of his mind about it. Still, Terra was going to give the man breathing room, so he turned to go. If the situation changed and the mage needed something, he'd be right there to help.

Something niggled at the back of Terra’s mind because Waver was lying through his teeth, unfortunately. The man would continue to do so for as long as no one questioned him, because it was an unpleasant and complicated subject given the nature of his current situation. He’d take the opportunity to carry on with the charade and run with it.

Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, he nodded again at the statement. “I am,” He stated firmly, pointedly not looking at Terra as he shrugged the coat over his shoulders and patted down the pockets to find what he needed. “I believe I’ll be taking my leave now, though. But enjoy the rest of your reading. Good luck with your plans.” He said in a slightly… too brisk tone, but piecing together his mask. The night air and a smoke would settle his nerves, or at least put him at enough of a distance from it for now.

“Good evening, Terra.” He added over his shoulder, though he supposed it might be closer to morning for all he knew. Regardless, he pauses a moment to give the man a chance to respond before heading for the door.

Something felt wrong. The man had been peacefully asleep but then there he was snatching his jacket. Terra wanted to protest, but really, what was there to protest about? The man was grown and he could go wherever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to. This was just..odd.

"Alright, thanks."

IT was all he could get out because he wondered if he'd done something or said something wrong. The tone was just..he couldn't place it. It just felt wrong and out of place. So all he could do was to be polite. "Good night, hope you get some sleep."

If Waver was… better at this… Socializing and being open with people, that is, he might have the mind to explain. Might be able to assure Terra he hadn’t done something wrong (because he hadn’t). But he wasn’t, and he was a hard case to crack. Pretending things were fine, that things didn’t get to him was part of what kept him going. The necessary lies that he himself refused to acknowledge, even to himself, that they were that. Lies.

So he nodded over his shoulder with a low hum. “I will, thank you.” He added, the confirmation another lie, and the thanks… Probably the most honest thing he’d said all night. He was thankful for not being questioned on the obvious, even if maybe he needed to confront some things.

But with that, the man disappeared towards the entrance, leaving Terra to his reading and his thoughts. He probably wouldn’t see the idiot mage for a while, between embarrassment and the busy nature of the coming month.

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June/July Open Top Levels

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