[Round 2, Day 5] If you seek you shall find

[summerstars]

Characters: Grenn, anyone else
Format: Prose preferred, action possible
This log is: open
Location: All over campus, variously close to the towers
Summary: Grenn is checking out all the towers (that she can reach), come with if you feel like it!

Grenn was aware there would probably be nothing to find when she'd wandered around to all the towers, but it was worth a try. There would probably be nothing visible, but then, when she'd hacked the system, there had been nothing visible there either, and see how that turned out.

Turning from the tower that stood by the entrance where the tram came in, Grenn wandered towards the first on her list; the one at the courtyard. She'd come to the others in time. Grenn grimaced as she scuffed her foot, having accidentally dragged it, and as pain shot up from the over-tuned/faulty connected nerves.

She hoped she someday would get used to the pain the prostethics caused, or at least be fully able to push it down to a subconcious level while she wore them.

Comments

[myblueskies]

Romeo bounded out into the courtyard, he was filthy. It was such a beautiful day that Romeo had decided to go up onto the roof of Red dorm again, just to look at the sky. Even though climbing chimneys were dangerous Romeo had missed it since he left Milano and often climbed onto the roof of his home just to be closer to the sky. Up on the roof, far away from adults and the noise a bustle of the street, a chimney sweeps world and the place where he felt closest to Alfredo.

He was back down now, and filthy from head to foot from the soot in the chimney, he was planning to go down to the lake to wash, the hot scolding water coming from the tubes in the ceiling were a little scary, not to mention too hot. However he soon saw someone who he recognised, someone who he had been looking for, for a few days now.

"Miss Grenn!" He bounded over with a big smile and then paused looking confused, "You're walking!" That was strange... he looked down at her legs and then back at her not understanding.

But then he remembered why he had been looking for her. "Oh! I brought you a present!" He reached into his uniform, which was as dirty as the rest of him; he would need to clean that in the lake as well since everyone in this school was so clean, and pulled out an apple.

"I'm sorry I thought you were a witch, miss Grenn!" He looked serious for a moment while he apologised.

[summerstars]

Grenn looked up and was at first confused at the dirty little rug-rat coming up to her, but then she recognized him as Romeo. How had the boy gotten so dirty? And then he handed her an apple. Grenn stifled a giggle and smiled.

"Thank you, and don't worry about it..." She'd noticed his confused look and comment an pulled up the pantsleg to show the metal beneath.
"Think of these as metal crutches attached to what's left of my legs... I prefer not to use them, though, because they cause pain," Grenn shrugged and then paused internally. Was that something she should have phrased differently for a boy as young as Romeo?

[myblueskies]

Romeo grinned to see Grenn take the apple glad that she wasn't mad at him, when she pulled up her trouser leg he tilted his head looking at the metal crutches, he had only ever seen wooden crutches before and never attached to a persons leg! He looked up at Grenn. "That's amazing!" But his smile of wonder turned to a frown within moments when Grenn mentioned that they caused pain.

"They hurt you!" He frowned and looked like he wanted to pull them off that instant. "Why do you wear them then?"

[summerstars]

Grenn shugged and absentmindedly rubbed the apple with her thumb.

"I usually don't. But I'm checking out the towers, and some of them are, or seem to be according to the map, anyway, in the forest... Can't get in there easily with the wheelchair." She hadn't really liked to admit defeat in this regard, but if she was gonna get anything checked out in a timely fashion...

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, the forest would be difficult to wheel something through, but the fact that Grenn was doing something that caused her pain made Romeo feel sad.

And she was going into the forest! Alone! There were wolves in the forest! And Lyra had said they shouldn't go into the forest without a compas but Romeo had no idea what one of them was. Still he frowned, Grenn was an adult and so he couldn't tell her not to go, but he could go with her, if the metal legs hurt her she wouldn't be able to move quickly and so the wolves would be able to eat her!

Romeo was scared of wolves, and he didn't want Grenn to be eaten!

"Can I come miss Grenn! I can help! There might be wolves!"

[summerstars]

"I..." Grenn blinked and stared a bit. Wolves? Where did he get that idea?

"I don't think there's going to be wolves Romeo... Besides the... tiger, there's not been anything here that have hurt us..." Grenn shook her head, standing carefully still; not shifting position limited the amount of input the nerves had to relay.

"You're welcome to come with, if you want to," Grenn said with a small smile and shrug, though she wondered how long he'd have the energy to walk around the campus. It was fairly large, after all, and at least half the towers seemed to be fairly out of the way.

[myblueskies]

At mention of the tiger Romeo shudered and his happy expression dropped for a moment. Then he shook his head, gritted his teeth and punched his arm up into the air. Spirits up, always keep your spirits up! Alfredo's voice rang in his mind. "Real tigers aren't blue..." he muttered before turning to Grenn and giving a small smile.

"There's always wolves in forests!" He smiled again, he was certain they could scare any off that came close, he gave a stronger smile and set off walking beside her.

[summerstars]

Grenn laughed lightly and shook her head. She'd seen very few animals, really. She was sure even the most city-dwelling of these 'students' had seen more animals in one year than what she'd seen in 18.

"If you say so. But there certainly won't be any wolves at the tower by the courtyard," Grenn said and pointed in the direction they were going, the tower opposite them as they wandered across the open area.

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, he hadn't seen any wolves so he guessed they must be hiding aay from all the people. He followed Grenn to the tower. "What is in these? Are they special towers?"

He blinked as he remembered the strange dream that he had sometimes, it was the same dream as the scary tiger but had never been so terrifying as the first time. But the towers did something...

"They are in my dreams..."

[summerstars]

"I have no idea..." Grenn tilted her head back and squinted up at the soaring spire, feeling annoyed. Yes, it looked exactly like the other one. The only difference... walking up to the locked gate, Grenn traced the letters on the plaque.

Another name. That was all. At least from this vantage point. And she was no superhuman athlete to climb the gate and get closer. Then Romeo muttered and Grenn looked down, frowning.

They were, weren't they? Tilting her head up back again, Grenn shook her head. That part of the dream/simulated death stage was the fuzziest, for her, probably because she'd already been 'dead', at that point.

"What do you remember?" Then Grenn grimaced, Romeo probably wouldn't want to think of that...

[myblueskies]

Romeo closed his eyes trying to remember, because even though it was really scary he would try if it would help Miss Grenn in whatever she was trying to do.

"Well there was lots blood," he grimaced, "And fire and a big blue tiger and he burnt things!" Romeo's voice dropped as he remembered, "He burnt Miss Sora and she died! Then... then," then the tigers paw had hit his back and it had hurt and he had died... except it was just a dream, spirits up, "then the towers! They were glowing, and buzzing like this," he made a sound through his teeth that sounded a cross between a buzz and a hum, "and then there was a star in the sky, it was huge, a star shape not an actual star!"

"Then there was more fire and then I woke up... there were words as well, something about a story... and a knight..."

He shuddered and tried not to think of the dream any more.

[summerstars]

Frag it. Grenn shook her head and after a few minutes hesitantly put her hand on Romeo's head.

"Sorry. I didn't... I just wanted to know about the towers. I should have said." A noise, huh? she actually thought she remembered a noise from that stage/dream/whatever of the simulation... But it had been present throughout, a thought-deafening noise that made much of what was said in the 'dream' smudged out. The first tower had been quite, she was sure. This one too.

Would all towers be quiet, or would any of them make that noise? And if so, what did that mean?

[myblueskies]

Romeo flinched when Grenn's hand came towards him but he relaxed when she just placed it on his head. He didn't stay close though, he took a shuffle to the side out of reach. "It's alright, it's just a bad dream," he gave another grin.

He pressed his face to the gate and frowned, "If only we could get in," he looked up, he might be able to climb it but there didn't look like there was that many footholds. "What does that say?" He pointed to the plaque.

PLACEHOLDER from when I return!

[queenscheckmate]

Kallen had been walking around campus (she had been doing that a lot recently) and saw Grenn down the path. It had been a while since she had seen the girl last... since their spar. The teenager approached the other female.

"Something you're looking into?" she inquired.

[summerstars]

Grenn looked up from looking at a map of the campus with a frown and blinked at Kallen.

"Oh, hi, Kallen. I was just..." She paused to wave her other hand, which held a compass by its cord, vaguely in the air. "Going to check out the towers. Probably won't find anything, but... It seemed like an idea." Grenn shrugged, feeling a bit self-consious. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find anything or not, considering what had happened last time, but there was surely something about the towers...

[queenscheckmate]

"Not a bad idea. Not like we know what they're for," the high school student said quietly. She hadn't considered that. After all, Meryl and she tried to get off the island by way of walking on the tracks and it wasn't exactly successful. If they couldn't leave then find out what they wanted from the inside.

[summerstars]

Grenn folded up the map again and nodded slowly, fingering the compass (which she'd mostly brought to make sure she was walking in the right direction when she had to go to the towers hidden deeper in the woods).

"Something like that... I don't really expect to find anything, but it doesn't hurt to try," Grenn grimaced, not feeling very optimistic, but it was better to empty out the possibilities, and the towers seemed a bit too conpicious to be for nothing.

[queenscheckmate]

"Is there something else bothering you? You seem a bit distracted, Grenn." Kallen shifting in her posture slightly, placing her arms under her breast bone.

[summerstars]

"Eh?" Looking up again, Grenn frowned and shook her head slowly. The only thing on her mind was, besides the pain from the prostethics, the wish of wanting to figure this out. This whole... thing.

"No... Not really? I'd just like to... well. Find something conclusive. It's... not as if anyone will believe the other thing..." The last was muttered as Grenn wasn't sure she wanted to go through yet another 'are you really all right, how can this be a simulation?' with another person.

Gino had been enough.

[queenscheckmate]

"You and me both, but they seem to be hiding those facts well." Kallen would give anything at this point to find something 'conclusive' but there really was nothing. Damn this place, seriously.

[summerstars]

With a sigh, Grenn walked up to Kallen, frowning. Should she? Well... One more person more-or-less not believeing her would probably be fine. She could handle that.

"Well." Grenn shrugged and fingered the compass. "You just have to know where to look, really... I tried hacking the system a bit ago. Remember the solour-swap?" Grenn felt her face heat, because that was embarrassing.

She'd tried, and not even managed to do anything useful. Of course, the punishment had been light, too.

[queenscheckmate]

Kallen caught sight of the frown. Was it something she said... or didn't say in this case?

"That was you?" Kallen wasn't effected by it thankfully, but had wondered how the situation came out. That answered that question.

[summerstars]

She'd started this by mentioning it, so now it was just to continue. Grenn stifled the urge to hide her face in her hands, that action just didn't feel the same as when she was sitting in a chair.

"Yeah. I tried to... Well, I had no idea what I'd find, but I... had the vauge idea of trying to disrupt the holographic tech, or the battle system, something." Grenn took a deep breath and looked Kallen straight in the face. "Instead the single computer screen of these... pathetically backwards computers kind of... folded out into many screens. I could touch them. Unfortunately, by that point, I had even less an idea of what I was doing, and the system found the intruder shortly after that and kicked me out..."

Which had been highly unpleasant.

[queenscheckmate]

"I see..." Hacking into anything would do much. Kallen maybe had the ability, but that wasn't her forte. Lloyd would probably be better off doing such a thing.

"It would never be that easy," she thought out loud. "I'm beginning to think there's no other way or that just they've outsmarted us."

[summerstars]

"It could have been that easy," Grenn felt annoyance bubble up, and she shook her head, glaring towards the buildings.

"No one can hack anything unless they know the system... Which'll be hard to do if you risk penalties that they can lob down immediately at you..." Grenn sighed and rubbed her face, tired and annoyed.

Hacking would probably not be an easy way out here, even if she or someone else could do it again.