[ The mind palace is a little weird, takes some adjusting, but treating it like a VR facility makes it easier to just go along with it. Besides, it's sorta nice to poke around headquarters as Sephiroth imagined it. Inasmuch as the man has any imagination (none, to clarify). Place was depressing when he was first here.
Maybe it's still depressing when Reno leaves, but for the moments when he exists in it, there's a bit more life to the whole scene: the cafeteria lights are on, you can actually get some food there if you mind-summon up something to pay 'em, and the elevator works.
Coming by to see him? If you don't have any plans to run him through with a sword, you're gonna find a handy keycard waiting at the unmanned front desk with your name on it. You should probably take it, or else the elevator's not gonna run.
The only floor you'll be able to hit is B3. Three floors down underground. That's where you'll find the Turks' office. Formally, it's got General Affairs: Auditing slapped on the sign. Sounds boring on purpose. Inside, a screen lights up on the wall, plush leather chairs circle the desks. A few tidy corporate-style leafy plants sit around the room to make it look less cold. The screen's got something playing on it—a city on fire in a big pile of rubble. No matter what, he can't seem to make it play something else, so whatever. No big deal. Not like turning it off is gonna change that it happened or anything.
As for Reno, he's probably napping on the couch, tossing a materia orb up and down like it's a baseball, or chucking pencils into the ceiling to watch them stick. Look, there's not a lot to do when you don't got a bunch of department execs breathing down your neck for this or that report.
Anyways, don't bother knocking, he's not gonna get up to answer the door. Just slide your card in the lock and head on in. It's not like there are top secret files lying everywhere. ]
[ Wandering in and out of other people's Domains is just a habit at this point. Prone as she is to wandering in general, it's hard to resist the urge of wanderlust in the real world, but it's more often fulfilled in Horizon. Who could when the landscape is everchanging and a depiction of the lives and dreams of her fellow Summoned?
A place like this strikes her as familiar in that unfamiliar way -- familiar because she's seen something like it before, but unfamiliar in that her day to day is far from this level of industry and technology. Curious as she is, Himeka wastes no time poking her nose around and exploring building bathed in bluish light.
There sure are a lot of doors and while she is intent on exploring everything, she recognizes a canteen when she sees one. And never let it be said that Himeka will not stop for a bite to eat or fifty.
There doesn't seem to be anyone working, but she still makes a point to grab a tray and see what's available. In the end, it doesn't matter, because she takes two of everything and eventually fills up a couple of trays. (She HAS to try twice to make sure she got the first go through just right.) When she reaches the end and is prompted for payment, she pauses. She taps all around herself to see if she bought a coin purse and curses when she feels nothing...
...then remembers that this is Horizon and, well, she can have one if she wants.
Duuuuuh.
With a tail pop in her little "ah-ha!" moment, Himeka summons up a stack of Gil. Based on her experience as an esteemed chef, she estimates a fair price and counts out the coins, as well as leaving a 15% tip. Just because that's the right thing to do.
Then with a smile, she takes all her trays and settles down on one of the numerous open tables.
Clapping her hands together, she grins. ]
Now let's see if this person has any sense of taste!
[ Does Reno have any sense of taste? Sort of. Not the pickiest eater, but he knows good food when he sees it. Either way, the food out of the cafeteria is less about his tastes and more about what he remembers of Shinra's. She'll find pretty standard corporate cafeteria fare quality: not amazing, but not that bad. Shinra, for all of its faults like, say, destroying the Planet and killing people, takes care of its own and that means getting the small stuff right. Like making sure employees don't hate the dinners they can buy when they're stuck working overtime.
The variety's decent: barbecued meat, sushi plates, noodles, pizzas, burgers. Plenty of snacks and drinks.
Anyway, Reno doesn't catch on that anyone's come in. Maybe he would if he'd been awake, but as it happens, he was dozing the afternoon away on the leather couch. Only when he gets up, clocks out, rides the elevator down (look, it's habit to go through the motions, okay?) and steps into the lobby does he see...
Okay, the first thing he sees is the pile of food. The second thing he sees is, uh. The redheaded lizard woman? Himeka?
He strolls over. Huh. He didn't tell her he works out of here, but she seems like the type to just go into a building and start eating them outta the house. Not that he cares. It isn't his food. ]
[ It's honestly an exciting spread, if you ask her. Makes her think a bit of the Last Stand's menu--unconventional! Almost international, when you really think about it. It's fitting for Sharlayan who likes to amass information on cultures from all over the star, but what inspired this place's menu, she wonders?
She'll have to go poking around a bit more after she finishes up.
Now what to start with...she's a Ruby Sea resident, so sushi it is! She can tell by the smell it isn't exactly fresh off the boat, but it doesn't smell off either. A roll rather than nigiri, which is fine and easier to package, really. She pops a piece into her mouth when she realizes she has company. ]
Hm?
[ Himeka perks up, looking over the wall of food she's amassed and offers a wave. ]
Mmeno menh?
[ Or she could just finish chewing before she's talking. ]
[ Jeez. Reno squints at her chipmunk cheeks for a sec.
Then he gingerly nudges one of the trays over to make room before he swings his legs over a flipped-around chair and drapes his arms over the backrest. ]
They don't feed you over in farmland or what, lady?
[ She's stuffing her face like this is the first time she's seen food, even. Hell, it's not real food. Imagined, simulated stuff.
Frankly, Reno doesn't even know what the food is doing in this place. It's just here 'cause it's what he remembers the cafeteria serving. Had a taste himself once or twice. Pretty accurate. Doesn't make him any more or less full when he eats it, but he guesses it fills that missing spot. Thorne's spread in the castle is nice and fancy, but it's missing decent barbecued skewers. Plus, sometimes a guy just craves a bowl of spicy ramen, you know?
He steals some of her fries without asking. She's got a ton. She's not gonna miss it. ]
[ Thankfully for the both of them, she does finally swallow before she responds, though she's grabbing a slice of pizza at the ready to stuff her face immediately after. ]
In the Horizon I can eat as much as I want without ever feeling full.
[ When she realized she could make that a thing, Himeka never looked back.
At least this time she takes a smaller bite of the pizza which makes her speech mostly intelligible. His table manners (or lack thereof) are certainly not something she's going to comment on given how she's handling herself. When he takes a fry, she actually pushes that tray a little closer to him. Sharing is caring! ]
Besides, you must have put this here so people could eat or else you would have hidden it.
[Crane arrives with a curious look on his face; raised brows and wide eyes colouring his face until guards usher him inside. Not that curiosity helps him process the scope of this place. His interest in meeting the owner of this skyscraper leads him to the reception desk. He collects the keycard waiting on the counter and sees it boasts his name.
Curioser and curioser.
He heads for the only place to explore: the corridors beyond the lift that travels below ground. What awaits are leather seats, cultivated plants, spotless desks and a redhead spread out on a couch. Tossing pencils into the ceiling.]
[ The whole setup of this place mostly just happens on its own. Reno didn't give conscious thought to it; it's just how he knows Shinra to function in the years he's been here, and so that's how it functions when other people walk on in.
So color him a little surprised when someone walks on in, elevator dinging and door beeping and all. Someone he's met before, actually. Huh. How the hell did this guy find him? Accident or what?
Normally, he'd pass it off as a coincidence but this man doesn't exude trustworthy.
Still, he turns his head from where he's stretched out on the couch, catching a pencil in his hand when it drops from the ceiling. ] Yeah? You brought me one or what?
[No words escape his mouth. Internal grumblings mutter disapprovingly about manners and tact, terrible ideas about subjecting this man to something that would catch his tongue. Should he have the right to speak freely? To provoke everyone without a care when he wants the same? He casts his gaze to the cultivated plants at the head and base of the couch.
His eyes rise towards the monitor before returning to his host. Those disturbing thoughts are locked tight behind closed and unrevealing body language. The arms clasped behind his body are the only tell of restraint - and even that is cast aside when he reveals an expensive looking bag.]
[ Reno eventually sits up, legs swinging back down and over the couch with the sort of laziness that suggests he's not doing it out of any sense of courtesy. He cocks his head. Doesn't bring up the stuff playing on the monitors. It ain't no one's business. And who the hell cares about a town burning on another Planet, anyhow?
He tosses the pencil on the table. It clatters, rolling until it bumps into an abandoned coffee mug. ]
I got a taste for it. [ Sure. Fancy-ass shit favoured by some bigwigs that's not his first choice, but Reno's no stranger to high-class liquor. He's indulged in his share of pricey bottles. Highlights of the job.
But he's not a host or an entertainer. When he sticks out his hand for the bottle, he's already asking: ] What're you doing here? Taking a stroll or lookin' for yours truly?
[ 'Cause their last conversation didn't really leave him wanting more, but he's not out to make enemies where he doesn't need to, either. Got enough shit on his plate. ]
[Heated temperament. Difficult personality. Easily bored and impatient. Crane makes his analysis as he deposits his bag - and hands over its bottle - on the closest seat. He then walks around to the desk and leans against it with his back.]
Well, I've been exploring. In here, one gets tired of their own space. But there's nothing personal about this. How would I even know you were here?
[Shame he offered something fancy, isn't it? This man isn't the civilised type. So maybe he is having fun at his expense a little.]
[sephiroth's domain has... certainly changed. though she tries to make her way the usual path towards the cafeteria where the big tree is, something more catches her attention. it's brighter, for one, in the lobby area, and there's even some 'soothing' music playing over what she supposes are well-hidden speakers. like a proper office. she doesn't approach the front desk because she has no reason to, and instead takes up the flight of stairs towards the main area where the elevator is. in finding that the elevator buttons aren't responding to her, despite hearing that the elevator is working, wanda tries to work things out her own way.
it is someone else's domain, but their ability to make things malleable and her own magic, she forces the elevator doors to open and respond to her. sephiroth won't mind, will he? he's crazy if he thinks she's going to take the stairs again.
wanda steps into the elevator, presses the only button available (basement...?), and waits.
this intrusion of her own consciousness into someone else's space does, however, send off some alerts into the domain. though the elevator started descending, it stops abruptly, the emergency lights flooding her in red. this is unusual — ]
Sephiroth!
[honestly, this would be a lot easier if he would just allow her access to the space without all these security measures and restrictions. and, well, she's kind of being the nosy person here, isn't she? with a huff, she blasts the doors of the elevator with a hex burst, revealing that she is between floors, and that starts the alarms.
talk about things escalating quickly.]
Shit. [she mutters to herself, crouching so that she can jump off the elevator, landing into a dark, empty space that has clearly not been thought out to be part of the building—a floor between the lobby and B3.] What's with this place?
[ Okay, he'll admit it: there's a flaw in the design when no one's manning the front desk to tell people they gotta sign out a key card to access the elevator, but then again, who sees an elevator that isn't responding and just cracks it open like a cold one?
(This lady, apparently.)
Reno's having a solid doze when the alarms sound. He jerks awake, and if he flails and falls off the damn couch, no one will ever know because he's gonna scrub the security footage first chance he gets. After he deals with—whatever the hell this is. What the hell is this? Who broke in? Is that even possible? Ugh. Maybe Sephiroth smashed something he shouldn't have untangling his giant sword from all that hair.
He grabs his mag-rod and pokes at the panels on the tables to bring up the cams. He squints at the busted elevator shaft. There's no one he can see, though—the cameras don't have access to parts of the place he never built.
He sighs. ] Guess I'll have to see for myself.
[ He does not run because professionals don't run into emergencies. He does cautiously round the corners, though; some part of him is constantly aware that, yeah, he does share a space with Sephiroth and while the good General seems sane enough now, you just never know. He's not lookin' to get skewered even in a simulation.
Reno steps through the broken doors, hops off to land on the top of the car, and kicks in the vent to drop inside. The blank space fills in slightly now that he's found it: tiles that make up the floors of B2, a few office doors. The red emergency lights flood the hall.
Okay. He's never seen this woman before. How'd she even get here?
He slings the steel rod over his shoulder. If she looks, she might glimpse the same red and gold emblem that decorates the Shinra building on the weapon's grip. ] Who the hell are you?
[suddenly, without much warning, she is no longer walking in complete darkness. there are floor tiles, substance to this corridor, doors that she figures might not lead to anywhere exciting. wanda stops trying to force her way anywhere when she hears the approach of someone.
expecting to see tall-and-broody with long, silver hair to only find a shorter man with too-vibrant red hair? it's a little disappointing. sephiroth has his own allure despite how weird he is.
wanda bounces the question right back at him, steeling her expression.]
I'd ask you the same.
[steel rod over his shoulder, a suit with no tie... did he lose some buttons on his shirt?]
Reno's expression turns from casually suspicious to comically affronted in about half a second flat. He gestures at her with the rod. ]
Hey—I'm Reno of the Turks, thank you! [ That this probably won't mean jack shit to her doesn't appear to stop him. ] And you're the one who busted my elevator and set the whole damn building off, so I don't see why I gotta be the one to identify myself.
[ Even though he literally just did, but you know what? Bite his ass. He's never been called a security guard in his life. She may as well have insulted his mother. (If he had one.)
Also, where the hell is he gonna turn this blaring shit off? He didn't exactly make a security override. Didn't think he'd need one considering this whole thing isn't, you know. Actually real. ]
[wanda raises a brow at the rather affronted introduction, because it does not—in fact—mean anything to her. she gives him a look to emphasize that confusion, and shrugs when she realizes that she might actually have offended him when he continues on.
is he turkish, now?]
I didn't break it. It was— malfunctioning.
[immediately, she doesn’t want to be found at fault for something that she definitely had something to do with. there is more pressing business afoot, however, and wanda just frowns and crosses her arms, looking at him, ignoring the blaring shit.]
[ This domain isn't exactly new. He's passed by it at least once or twice before in his explorations of Horizon - his attempts to map this strange, shared landscape. There's nothing particularly inviting about this place. At times it's reminded him of the Black Tower that once stood in Nurjima, jutting out of the land like a threat. However, what's new this one time is the keycard at the desk. He takes it, studying the letters on it. They're fluid, shifting letters, as if undecided.
Ky hlil ishan
With a grimace he looks to the elevator, hesitating at the sudden memory of Julie's warped domain, and Steven's upsetting greeting.
(is this him, or this is the Singularity?)
He does end up taking the elevator down into the basement, quietly entering the boring sounding office. From the doorway he takes in the scene: the red-haired man on the couch tossing things, the office-like setting that continues to remind him of something out of Nayeshi science fiction. And then there's the screen, the burning city flashing across it. ]
I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. [ There's a slight, wry lilt to his voice, though he's still distracted a bit by the screen. Hastily, he jams the indecisive keycard into his cloak.
Here, Kahlil comes dressed in the vestments of a priest, a long black cloak over a grey cassock, little moons decorating the high collar. He carries no weapons, he hasn't tried summoning the yasi'halaun here since that time in the place that was like Horizon but not, when it erupted into a monstrous creature of bones. ]
[ Credit where it's due: Kyle's the first person stopping by who's neither a stranger nor a thin creepy little man he ain't exactly looking to make friends with. Also, he used the elevator. And didn't disturb his nap.
Anyways.
He catches the material orb one last time before sitting up. A grin flashes across his face, as slick as his usual but with a touch of genuineness that suggests he's not against Kyle poking in.
His eyes roam over Kyle's robes, curious but not too questioning. Reno himself's got the wings of the Chariot embossed on the back of his leather gloves. He's noticed, has sort of fussed with making it go away before he eventually gave up. Guess it's just a thing about this place. ]
Nah. [ He waves a dismissive hand. ] Nothing goes on in here. You need something?
[ Some things are like that in Horizon. Permanent, whether you want them to be or not. His own symbol of the Hanged Man is emblazoned on his left shoulder, the stitching made to match the moons on his collar - though he hadn't thought of that detail himself.
The colorful paperweight in Reno's hand doesn't stand out to him as anything peculiar at first, though it is pretty. ]
Not really, just exploring. [ He returns the grin with a crooked smile and a shrug. If a door is unlocked (or if he's given a key, in this case) he expects that the owner of the domain is fine with visitors. He glances around the room. ]
Do you know who this domain belongs to?
[ It doesn't occur to him that it's Reno's, given the timing of his arrival versus how long this place has been here. ]
[ The explanation's passes in his eyes. Sounds like the Kyle he's gotten to know over the past weeks. Poking around because he can. Reno's sometimes the same way.
Reno makes a little seesaw gesture with his hand. ] Guess we've got joint custody. Sephiroth made it first. Curtains of silver hair. About a foot too damn tall. [ In case Kyle doesn't recognize the name. ] I found it when I came in, decided I could just take over. We worked outta the same headquarters back home.
[ Well. Did. Before Sephiroth broke down, went insane, set everything on fire. Whatever, it's not a big deal right now. The SOLDIER seems...not about to do that again, and considering it was whatever shit in Hojo's lab that must've set him off (reports aren't clear over that incident; a lot of shit blew up, burned down, people getting knocked out and falling into mako pools...), he figures it probably won't be a repeat event. Probably.
They'll see. Not as though he can do anything about it. What, is he supposed to grab Sephiroth the ankle and chuck him off the planet like a grenade? ]
[ Oh. There's no recognition within his expression at the name, nor the description. Someone outside of Thorne - he would definitely notice a tall man with long silver hair wandering around the halls of the castle. But, also interesting that Reno knew someone in Abraxas from the start.
Having not been asked to leave, he pulls a seat from the long table, leaning back. It's comfortable. ]
I've heard of others doing the same. [ A wave around the room - sharing domains. Claude, Hilda and Sylvain all share the same grounds, carving out their own spaces within it. He imagines you have to be on relatively good terms with someone else to share this way with them. ]
This all exists where you're from, then? And - [ he frowns, nodding toward the repeating destruction on the screen. ] - that?
[It’s been a while since he’s done a little exploring throughout the Horizon. When Stephen takes the time to visit, it’s often to find himself within the comfort of his own domain — his home away from home, lost in the familiarity of the Sanctum, its moving hallways and its library with its ceaseless books.
But not today.
He’s drawn towards something a little different, maybe just to change up the pace. As comforting as familiarity is, there’s only so much he can ignore his growing curiosity to see what else is out there, dotted on the Horizon. How it’s changed since other Summoned have come and gone. And so he wanders. And what he finds is… vaguely reminiscent to Avengers’ Tower in scope, but not necessarily in design. No, when he steps through those doors into the sleek, rather corporate-clean lobby, it trends a bit more sci-fi than what he really expects, with a smidge of the industrial amid the bright lighting.
Interesting.
Eventually, he takes the elevator down to B3 (given access with a keycard that bears his name — how novel), pressing forward with the hope of meeting the owner of this place. And when he finally finds himself inside General Affairs, well. It’s an office. He’s not sure what he expected.
Stephen looks a little… out of place in his sorcerer’s garb, but he’s not looking to make a grand first impression.]
So, hi. Hope you don’t mind strangers nosing around.
[Not that it matters, he’s already here. (Does he recognize this man, sprawled out on the couch, from the castle?) Regardless, Stephen’s brows lift to take in what’s on display — it’s hard not to miss the screen, looping what appears to be a city that’s seen better days, literally on fire.]
[ Guess folks just stroll on in now, but since they all seem to have the authorization (for reasons Reno doesn't understand, but he gets it's got something to do with Sephiroth, this place, or his own...headspace), he's not gonna sound the alarm. Especially since he's already experienced what happens when someone busts their way in without clearance.
Thanks, Wanda.
The little click and whir before the door opens has Reno looking over expectantly when the man walks in. His eyebrows lift at the sight of the whole...outfit. It's less the dramatic flare of the look that stands out and more the old-fashioned edge. Like the guy's stepped straight out of Thorne's castle rather than putting on his clothes how everyone else does.
He catches the blue-glowing orb one last time and swings his legs over the side to sit up. ]
You never seen the news before? [ Okay, there are stats and a few other tidbits on the side that suggest this is a more than a local broadcast, but Reno moves on quickly. He narrows his eyes. ] Have we met?
[ Possibly? Who knows from where. Could be Nocwich, could be Thorne, could be somewhere on the mountains during that shitstorm two months ago. Reno's brushed shoulders with a lot of people, but only a few he's committed to memory. Maybe the guy sorta recognizes him, too. He's hung around Natasha a few times, and a pair of redheads are hard to miss. ]
[Please don't sound the alarm on Stephen and make him deal with Shinra's far-too-weaponized machines, he's Too Tired for that.
Would Reno be surprised that this usually qualifies for Stephen's "normal clothes"? He supposes he could go with the t-shirt and jeans look, but rarely does he traverse the Horizon looking quite that casual. Perhaps it says plenty about his self-identity that his robes have become the default these days. (He refuses to call it his superhero outfit.)
The skeptical look on his face notches up by a few degrees. Stephen raises a scarred hand to waggle a finger at the screen.]
I have seen news like that before, and in my experience? Not usually great.
[World-shattering events rarely are, and one might be surprised how often they transpire on Earth-616.]
Are you from the castle? We might have crossed paths; I keep busy. [A beat, and an introduction, even if unasked for:] My name's Stephen Strange.
[ Yeah. No shit. But: ] Well, it ain't happening here, so you don't gotta worry about it.
[ He flicks the screen off. It's distracting, apparently, and he doesn't really wanna get into it. Like he said, it's not happening now or anywhere near them. No point in discussing it, right? Sure.
They can talk about where they might've met instead. ] Doesn't ring any bells. [ He squints a bit at Stephen. Yeah, they must've brushed shoulders in the halls or something. The guy isn't all that memorable, so Reno probably just didn't look twice when they walked by each other. Now that he's here, though, Reno does like to make his connections. Losing all the ones he's had through Shinra's isn't fun. ]
You can call me Reno. [ He sets the orb down beside him. The mako inside swirls and shimmers. ] So what sorta busy do you keep, Mister Strange?
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general affairs; auditing.
Maybe it's still depressing when Reno leaves, but for the moments when he exists in it, there's a bit more life to the whole scene: the cafeteria lights are on, you can actually get some food there if you mind-summon up something to pay 'em, and the elevator works.
Coming by to see him? If you don't have any plans to run him through with a sword, you're gonna find a handy keycard waiting at the unmanned front desk with your name on it. You should probably take it, or else the elevator's not gonna run.
The only floor you'll be able to hit is B3. Three floors down underground. That's where you'll find the Turks' office. Formally, it's got General Affairs: Auditing slapped on the sign. Sounds boring on purpose. Inside, a screen lights up on the wall, plush leather chairs circle the desks. A few tidy corporate-style leafy plants sit around the room to make it look less cold. The screen's got something playing on it—a city on fire in a big pile of rubble. No matter what, he can't seem to make it play something else, so whatever. No big deal. Not like turning it off is gonna change that it happened or anything.
As for Reno, he's probably napping on the couch, tossing a materia orb up and down like it's a baseball, or chucking pencils into the ceiling to watch them stick. Look, there's not a lot to do when you don't got a bunch of department execs breathing down your neck for this or that report.
Anyways, don't bother knocking, he's not gonna get up to answer the door. Just slide your card in the lock and head on in. It's not like there are top secret files lying everywhere. ]
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A place like this strikes her as familiar in that unfamiliar way -- familiar because she's seen something like it before, but unfamiliar in that her day to day is far from this level of industry and technology. Curious as she is, Himeka wastes no time poking her nose around and exploring building bathed in bluish light.
There sure are a lot of doors and while she is intent on exploring everything, she recognizes a canteen when she sees one. And never let it be said that Himeka will not stop for a bite to eat or fifty.
There doesn't seem to be anyone working, but she still makes a point to grab a tray and see what's available. In the end, it doesn't matter, because she takes two of everything and eventually fills up a couple of trays. (She HAS to try twice to make sure she got the first go through just right.) When she reaches the end and is prompted for payment, she pauses. She taps all around herself to see if she bought a coin purse and curses when she feels nothing...
...then remembers that this is Horizon and, well, she can have one if she wants.
Duuuuuh.
With a tail pop in her little "ah-ha!" moment, Himeka summons up a stack of Gil. Based on her experience as an esteemed chef, she estimates a fair price and counts out the coins, as well as leaving a 15% tip. Just because that's the right thing to do.
Then with a smile, she takes all her trays and settles down on one of the numerous open tables.
Clapping her hands together, she grins. ]
Now let's see if this person has any sense of taste!
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The variety's decent: barbecued meat, sushi plates, noodles, pizzas, burgers. Plenty of snacks and drinks.
Anyway, Reno doesn't catch on that anyone's come in. Maybe he would if he'd been awake, but as it happens, he was dozing the afternoon away on the leather couch. Only when he gets up, clocks out, rides the elevator down (look, it's habit to go through the motions, okay?) and steps into the lobby does he see...
Okay, the first thing he sees is the pile of food. The second thing he sees is, uh. The redheaded lizard woman? Himeka?
He strolls over. Huh. He didn't tell her he works out of here, but she seems like the type to just go into a building and start eating them outta the house. Not that he cares. It isn't his food. ]
Well, well, if it ain't the muffin lady.
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She'll have to go poking around a bit more after she finishes up.
Now what to start with...she's a Ruby Sea resident, so sushi it is! She can tell by the smell it isn't exactly fresh off the boat, but it doesn't smell off either. A roll rather than nigiri, which is fine and easier to package, really. She pops a piece into her mouth when she realizes she has company. ]
Hm?
[ Himeka perks up, looking over the wall of food she's amassed and offers a wave. ]
Mmeno menh?
[ Or she could just finish chewing before she's talking. ]
Whah om oo hoon hoo?
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Then he gingerly nudges one of the trays over to make room before he swings his legs over a flipped-around chair and drapes his arms over the backrest. ]
They don't feed you over in farmland or what, lady?
[ She's stuffing her face like this is the first time she's seen food, even. Hell, it's not real food. Imagined, simulated stuff.
Frankly, Reno doesn't even know what the food is doing in this place. It's just here 'cause it's what he remembers the cafeteria serving. Had a taste himself once or twice. Pretty accurate. Doesn't make him any more or less full when he eats it, but he guesses it fills that missing spot. Thorne's spread in the castle is nice and fancy, but it's missing decent barbecued skewers. Plus, sometimes a guy just craves a bowl of spicy ramen, you know?
He steals some of her fries without asking. She's got a ton. She's not gonna miss it. ]
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In the Horizon I can eat as much as I want without ever feeling full.
[ When she realized she could make that a thing, Himeka never looked back.
At least this time she takes a smaller bite of the pizza which makes her speech mostly intelligible. His table manners (or lack thereof) are certainly not something she's going to comment on given how she's handling herself. When he takes a fry, she actually pushes that tray a little closer to him. Sharing is caring! ]
Besides, you must have put this here so people could eat or else you would have hidden it.
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Curioser and curioser.
He heads for the only place to explore: the corridors beyond the lift that travels below ground. What awaits are leather seats, cultivated plants, spotless desks and a redhead spread out on a couch. Tossing pencils into the ceiling.]
Well, you look like you need a drink.
[A strong one.]
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So color him a little surprised when someone walks on in, elevator dinging and door beeping and all. Someone he's met before, actually. Huh. How the hell did this guy find him? Accident or what?
Normally, he'd pass it off as a coincidence but this man doesn't exude trustworthy.
Still, he turns his head from where he's stretched out on the couch, catching a pencil in his hand when it drops from the ceiling. ] Yeah? You brought me one or what?
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His eyes rise towards the monitor before returning to his host. Those disturbing thoughts are locked tight behind closed and unrevealing body language. The arms clasped behind his body are the only tell of restraint - and even that is cast aside when he reveals an expensive looking bag.]
That depends. Are you partial to sherry?
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He tosses the pencil on the table. It clatters, rolling until it bumps into an abandoned coffee mug. ]
I got a taste for it. [ Sure. Fancy-ass shit favoured by some bigwigs that's not his first choice, but Reno's no stranger to high-class liquor. He's indulged in his share of pricey bottles. Highlights of the job.
But he's not a host or an entertainer. When he sticks out his hand for the bottle, he's already asking: ] What're you doing here? Taking a stroll or lookin' for yours truly?
[ 'Cause their last conversation didn't really leave him wanting more, but he's not out to make enemies where he doesn't need to, either. Got enough shit on his plate. ]
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Well, I've been exploring. In here, one gets tired of their own space. But there's nothing personal about this. How would I even know you were here?
[Shame he offered something fancy, isn't it? This man isn't the civilised type. So maybe he is having fun at his expense a little.]
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lmk if this is ok!
it is someone else's domain, but their ability to make things malleable and her own magic, she forces the elevator doors to open and respond to her. sephiroth won't mind, will he? he's crazy if he thinks she's going to take the stairs again.
wanda steps into the elevator, presses the only button available (basement...?), and waits.
this intrusion of her own consciousness into someone else's space does, however, send off some alerts into the domain. though the elevator started descending, it stops abruptly, the emergency lights flooding her in red. this is unusual — ]
Sephiroth!
[honestly, this would be a lot easier if he would just allow her access to the space without all these security measures and restrictions. and, well, she's kind of being the nosy person here, isn't she? with a huff, she blasts the doors of the elevator with a hex burst, revealing that she is between floors, and that starts the alarms.
talk about things escalating quickly.]
Shit. [she mutters to herself, crouching so that she can jump off the elevator, landing into a dark, empty space that has clearly not been thought out to be part of the building—a floor between the lobby and B3.] What's with this place?
[yeah, blame the place, wanda.]
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(This lady, apparently.)
Reno's having a solid doze when the alarms sound. He jerks awake, and if he flails and falls off the damn couch, no one will ever know because he's gonna scrub the security footage first chance he gets. After he deals with—whatever the hell this is. What the hell is this? Who broke in? Is that even possible? Ugh. Maybe Sephiroth smashed something he shouldn't have untangling his giant sword from all that hair.
He grabs his mag-rod and pokes at the panels on the tables to bring up the cams. He squints at the busted elevator shaft. There's no one he can see, though—the cameras don't have access to parts of the place he never built.
He sighs. ] Guess I'll have to see for myself.
[ He does not run because professionals don't run into emergencies. He does cautiously round the corners, though; some part of him is constantly aware that, yeah, he does share a space with Sephiroth and while the good General seems sane enough now, you just never know. He's not lookin' to get skewered even in a simulation.
Reno steps through the broken doors, hops off to land on the top of the car, and kicks in the vent to drop inside. The blank space fills in slightly now that he's found it: tiles that make up the floors of B2, a few office doors. The red emergency lights flood the hall.
Okay. He's never seen this woman before. How'd she even get here?
He slings the steel rod over his shoulder. If she looks, she might glimpse the same red and gold emblem that decorates the Shinra building on the weapon's grip. ] Who the hell are you?
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expecting to see tall-and-broody with long, silver hair to only find a shorter man with too-vibrant red hair? it's a little disappointing. sephiroth has his own allure despite how weird he is.
wanda bounces the question right back at him, steeling her expression.]
I'd ask you the same.
[steel rod over his shoulder, a suit with no tie... did he lose some buttons on his shirt?]
—security guard?
[that's almost offensive]
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Reno's expression turns from casually suspicious to comically affronted in about half a second flat. He gestures at her with the rod. ]
Hey—I'm Reno of the Turks, thank you! [ That this probably won't mean jack shit to her doesn't appear to stop him. ] And you're the one who busted my elevator and set the whole damn building off, so I don't see why I gotta be the one to identify myself.
[ Even though he literally just did, but you know what? Bite his ass. He's never been called a security guard in his life. She may as well have insulted his mother. (If he had one.)
Also, where the hell is he gonna turn this blaring shit off? He didn't exactly make a security override. Didn't think he'd need one considering this whole thing isn't, you know. Actually real. ]
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is he turkish, now?]
I didn't break it. It was— malfunctioning.
[immediately, she doesn’t want to be found at fault for something that she definitely had something to do with. there is more pressing business afoot, however, and wanda just frowns and crosses her arms, looking at him, ignoring the blaring shit.]
I thought this place belonged to Sephiroth.
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Ky hlil ishan
With a grimace he looks to the elevator, hesitating at the sudden memory of Julie's warped domain, and Steven's upsetting greeting.
(is this him, or this is the Singularity?)
He does end up taking the elevator down into the basement, quietly entering the boring sounding office. From the doorway he takes in the scene: the red-haired man on the couch tossing things, the office-like setting that continues to remind him of something out of Nayeshi science fiction. And then there's the screen, the burning city flashing across it. ]
I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. [ There's a slight, wry lilt to his voice, though he's still distracted a bit by the screen. Hastily, he jams the indecisive keycard into his cloak.
Here, Kahlil comes dressed in the vestments of a priest, a long black cloak over a grey cassock, little moons decorating the high collar. He carries no weapons, he hasn't tried summoning the yasi'halaun here since that time in the place that was like Horizon but not, when it erupted into a monstrous creature of bones. ]
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Anyways.
He catches the material orb one last time before sitting up. A grin flashes across his face, as slick as his usual but with a touch of genuineness that suggests he's not against Kyle poking in.
His eyes roam over Kyle's robes, curious but not too questioning. Reno himself's got the wings of the Chariot embossed on the back of his leather gloves. He's noticed, has sort of fussed with making it go away before he eventually gave up. Guess it's just a thing about this place. ]
Nah. [ He waves a dismissive hand. ] Nothing goes on in here. You need something?
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The colorful paperweight in Reno's hand doesn't stand out to him as anything peculiar at first, though it is pretty. ]
Not really, just exploring. [ He returns the grin with a crooked smile and a shrug. If a door is unlocked (or if he's given a key, in this case) he expects that the owner of the domain is fine with visitors. He glances around the room. ]
Do you know who this domain belongs to?
[ It doesn't occur to him that it's Reno's, given the timing of his arrival versus how long this place has been here. ]
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Reno makes a little seesaw gesture with his hand. ] Guess we've got joint custody. Sephiroth made it first. Curtains of silver hair. About a foot too damn tall. [ In case Kyle doesn't recognize the name. ] I found it when I came in, decided I could just take over. We worked outta the same headquarters back home.
[ Well. Did. Before Sephiroth broke down, went insane, set everything on fire. Whatever, it's not a big deal right now. The SOLDIER seems...not about to do that again, and considering it was whatever shit in Hojo's lab that must've set him off (reports aren't clear over that incident; a lot of shit blew up, burned down, people getting knocked out and falling into mako pools...), he figures it probably won't be a repeat event. Probably.
They'll see. Not as though he can do anything about it. What, is he supposed to grab Sephiroth the ankle and chuck him off the planet like a grenade? ]
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Having not been asked to leave, he pulls a seat from the long table, leaning back. It's comfortable. ]
I've heard of others doing the same. [ A wave around the room - sharing domains. Claude, Hilda and Sylvain all share the same grounds, carving out their own spaces within it. He imagines you have to be on relatively good terms with someone else to share this way with them. ]
This all exists where you're from, then? And - [ he frowns, nodding toward the repeating destruction on the screen. ] - that?
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wrap soon?
good to end here!
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But not today.
He’s drawn towards something a little different, maybe just to change up the pace. As comforting as familiarity is, there’s only so much he can ignore his growing curiosity to see what else is out there, dotted on the Horizon. How it’s changed since other Summoned have come and gone. And so he wanders. And what he finds is… vaguely reminiscent to Avengers’ Tower in scope, but not necessarily in design. No, when he steps through those doors into the sleek, rather corporate-clean lobby, it trends a bit more sci-fi than what he really expects, with a smidge of the industrial amid the bright lighting.
Interesting.
Eventually, he takes the elevator down to B3 (given access with a keycard that bears his name — how novel), pressing forward with the hope of meeting the owner of this place. And when he finally finds himself inside General Affairs, well. It’s an office. He’s not sure what he expected.
Stephen looks a little… out of place in his sorcerer’s garb, but he’s not looking to make a grand first impression.]
So, hi. Hope you don’t mind strangers nosing around.
[Not that it matters, he’s already here. (Does he recognize this man, sprawled out on the couch, from the castle?) Regardless, Stephen’s brows lift to take in what’s on display — it’s hard not to miss the screen, looping what appears to be a city that’s seen better days, literally on fire.]
…Interesting programming.
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Thanks, Wanda.
The little click and whir before the door opens has Reno looking over expectantly when the man walks in. His eyebrows lift at the sight of the whole...outfit. It's less the dramatic flare of the look that stands out and more the old-fashioned edge. Like the guy's stepped straight out of Thorne's castle rather than putting on his clothes how everyone else does.
He catches the blue-glowing orb one last time and swings his legs over the side to sit up. ]
You never seen the news before? [ Okay, there are stats and a few other tidbits on the side that suggest this is a more than a local broadcast, but Reno moves on quickly. He narrows his eyes. ] Have we met?
[ Possibly? Who knows from where. Could be Nocwich, could be Thorne, could be somewhere on the mountains during that shitstorm two months ago. Reno's brushed shoulders with a lot of people, but only a few he's committed to memory. Maybe the guy sorta recognizes him, too. He's hung around Natasha a few times, and a pair of redheads are hard to miss. ]
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Would Reno be surprised that this usually qualifies for Stephen's "normal clothes"? He supposes he could go with the t-shirt and jeans look, but rarely does he traverse the Horizon looking quite that casual. Perhaps it says plenty about his self-identity that his robes have become the default these days. (He refuses to call it his superhero outfit.)
The skeptical look on his face notches up by a few degrees. Stephen raises a scarred hand to waggle a finger at the screen.]
I have seen news like that before, and in my experience? Not usually great.
[World-shattering events rarely are, and one might be surprised how often they transpire on Earth-616.]
Are you from the castle? We might have crossed paths; I keep busy. [A beat, and an introduction, even if unasked for:] My name's Stephen Strange.
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[ He flicks the screen off. It's distracting, apparently, and he doesn't really wanna get into it. Like he said, it's not happening now or anywhere near them. No point in discussing it, right? Sure.
They can talk about where they might've met instead. ] Doesn't ring any bells. [ He squints a bit at Stephen. Yeah, they must've brushed shoulders in the halls or something. The guy isn't all that memorable, so Reno probably just didn't look twice when they walked by each other. Now that he's here, though, Reno does like to make his connections. Losing all the ones he's had through Shinra's isn't fun. ]
You can call me Reno. [ He sets the orb down beside him. The mako inside swirls and shimmers. ] So what sorta busy do you keep, Mister Strange?
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sorry for the delay!!