entranceway | 003. [video/action]

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003. [video/action]

[ Aerith pops on screen looking a little winded, and maybe just a tiny bit frantic.

See, she has this Materia - a tiny little ball of glowy magic, courtesy of her mother - and she's managed to lose it.

There's no telling where the thing is. Usually, she tucks it up tightly in her ribbon, but recently she's been pretty distracted with the arrival of some of her favorite people, and maybe she's let her routine slide just the tiniest bit.

Whatever the reason, it's now gone and after she's turned her room upside down in her search, she figures she'll put out a message on the network in case anyone's found it. ]

I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I've lost something of mine. It's green and about this size. [ And she props her little device on a side table, so she can stand back and make a shape with her hands. ] It's not big enough to really stand out, but it's not small enough to fall through any cracks or vents.

[ She picks up her device again, sighing. In all the time she's had her mother's Materia on her, she hasn't lost it. Not like this. Especially not in a mansion that likes to throw monsters and tricks their way. ]

I'm going to look more through the mansion, but if anyone comes across it, give me a heads up?

[OOC: Just a heads up - she won't be finding it anytime soon, but everyone is welcome to help her. Also, feel free to run into her anywhere - she'll be searching high and low and through the grounds. ]

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[It's not common to see Aerith make a post like this. In fact, Martha doesn't think that it's happened since her arrival, so it stands out for that reason. Combine that with the panicked look on Aerith's face, and Martha's almost instantly worried.

Aerith's lost something? Martha doesn't recall ever seeing the item that she's described, but it's also a bit vague...

Of course she's going to help look for it. She would do that regardless, but after everything that happened with the event, Martha's been trying to throw herself into things even more than usual.]

I'll keep an eye out, but we can search together as well, if you like.

[ The knot of tension that has grown at the pit of her stomach eases a little at Martha's offer. Aerith knows she's capable of searching on her own, but having help would make her feel so much better about it. ]

I would love some help searching, Martha. Do you want to meet me at my room? We can go through the floor and the diner, at least.

[ She realizes she wasn't very descriptive with her initial video post, but all that worry made her feel slightly rushed. ]

[After her search for Henry with Emma, Martha's a little uncertain on how good she is when it comes to these searching parties. But still, an item is different from a person, and it's not as if Aerith's trinket went home. That would just be ridiculous.

So it must be around here somewhere, and searching the eighth floor is a good place to start, since it's where Aerith's room is -- and the diner, where she spends a lot of her time.]

Sounds good. I'll be there now. [She ends the feed and makes the quick trip for her room to Aerith's, glad to be helping with something. All the horrible things she did during the event are still bothering her, but she's trying to keep that to herself for now. She doesn't need to burden Aerith with it.

When she arrives at Aerith's room, Martha raps on the door and waits for her to open up.]

[ Aerith's quick to answer the door - okay, she might have been pacing her room a tiny bit, all this worry is giving her a lot of energy - and she gives Martha a grateful smile. ]

Thank you for helping me, Martha. I know you probably have better things to do.

[ And she'll grab something off the table by the door, a glass ball that fits in the palm of her hand. After her post, she realized she hadn't been very descriptive so she decided to have the closet make her something roughly similar. It's clear, though, but it'll work. ]

What I'm looking for is about this size, and green. I'm sure it just rolled under something. [ She hopes. ] Want to start in the diner?

[As far as Martha is concerned, no, she doesn't have anything better to do. Other than tracking down all the people who she experimented on during the event to apologize, but that's... well, it's draining. And Aerith needs her help, so she's not going to ignore that either.

When Aerith shows her a replica of what she's looking for, Martha peers at it, tilting her head from side to side.] So sort of like a marble, then. [She has to wonder what makes it so special. She can tell that Aerith's a bit more tense than usual, so she must be rather upset to have lost it.]

Right. The diner sounds good. [Martha's guessing Aerith's already searched her whole room twice over. She heads back out the door and down the hall toward the diner, glancing over at Aerith as she goes.] So... I'm assuming whatever it is, it has a lot of sentimental value, is that it?

[ She's actually searched her room about five times, each time getting more frustrated at herself. It's rare for her to feel like this, but she's handling it like she does everything else - giving herself tiny pep talks. Keeping her optimism isn't easy, but it helps her not panic too badly. ]

A little bit like one, yes. [ She makes sure to put the glass orb in her pocket, just in case they run into anyone else she needs to describe it to. It's like her own version of a 'lost pet' poster. ] It was given to me by my mother before she died. My birth mother.

[ Usually, she skims over that part, but she's opened up to Martha quite a bit and feels comfortable talking to her about this kind of thing. It's quite a change to how she used to deal only a few short years ago - keeping it inside, letting hardly anyone in. All part of the learning process, she thinks. ]

It's actually called Materia. It's the go to for magic where I'm from, and it can do a number of things - offensive magic spells, healing or even summoning creatures to help us fight. The one I have seems to be a dud, though. [ But she doesn't look bothered by that fact. She's fond of her little dud of a materia. ] I wish I'd brought some with me, but I'm sure Zack or Vincent might have some. I wonder if it'll work with people from different places...

[ Something to think about, at least. And they've reached the diner, Aerith pushing open the door so she can Martha can enter. ]

Maybe we should try the kitchen first.

[So it's a memento from her mother who passed away... Martha imagines that has something to do with Aerith being a Cetra, like she explained before. That's not the important point here, though. No, this marble or orb or whatever it is -- it's the only thing that Aerith has left of her mother. No wonder she's so upset.

Martha's about to offer her condolences, even though she doesn't think there are any words that will really suffice, but then Aerith moves on to explain what the orb actually is. Materia...? It's not a term that she's heard before, obviously, but she's intrigued to hear that they can actually help someone perform magic. She'd also like to know if anyone could learn to use it, or if it's only compatible with people from Aerith's world.

Speaking of that... Martha had heard about Zack, but Vincent too?] Do you mean Vincent, err, Valentine? [That name is still ridiculous, as far as she's concerned, and she doesn't think that opinion's ever going to change.] I met him. Zack, too. Zack was quite a bit more friendly, I have to say.

[When they reach the diner, which is surprisingly empty (it must have to do with the time of day), Martha looks around before nodding to Aerith's suggestion.] Good idea. [She starts moving to the back of the diner, where the kitchen is.]

[ Aerith's not surprised that Martha's already run in to Zack - he's friendly and easy to talk to - but Vincent is a little more difficult to pin down and she smiles. ]

That's Vincent. He's not the most social, but he's a friend.

[ Aerith follows Martha to the kitchen, her eyes scanning the whole area as best as she can without crawling around on her hands and knees. Hopefully, it won't get to that point. ]

They both showed up at the same time, and it's got me all turned around. I'm happy that they're here, and it's been so long since I've seen Zack... [ She trails off as they enter the kitchen, shaking her head. ] Is it bad that I keep hoping more of my friends show up? I feel like this isn't something I should wish on anyone.

[Vincent is a friend of Aerith's? Martha's surprised to hear that. She'd sort of been thinking that he would be a bit more like Sephiroth. Someone who Aerith had a history with back home, if not a very good one.]

I could handle not social. [She mutters it, half under her breath.] It's the fact that he pointed a gun at me first thing that made him a bit difficult to deal with.

[If Aerith's really Vincent's friend, though, then there must be something more to him. While Aerith seems like she would get along with just about anyone, Martha doesn't think she would befriend a bad person.

When she brings up the fact that she wants other friends of hers to show up, Martha just sends her a sad smile.] No, it's not bad. I think a lot of us feel that way. It's easy to get homesick here, after all. And in the end, no matter what you wish, it's up to Wonderland, isn't it?

[ Though Vincent's reaction isn't entirely surprising to Aerith, she still winces. Not the best way to make someone's acquaintance, but Vincent certainly does have a way about him. ]

I guess you're the first person who ran into him here, aren't you? When I finally talked to him, he'd mentioned that he spoke with someone. I just didn't know who.

[ Maybe she'll try to scold Vincent into apologizing later, but she can't promise anything. ]

It is. It's such a weird feeling, to not be in control of something as simple as going home. [ She's even starting to grow homesick for Midgar. Or really, Elmyra. There's a big sigh on her end, and she puts her hands on her hips, taking a quick look over the counter tops in the kitchen. ]

I didn't think there would be so many places for it to hide in. [ Under a table? Under an appliance? In some dark corner behind some shelves? Hopefully not in the food, but she thinks someone would have noticed that by now. ] I'll start over on the left side, we can meet each other in the middle?

I think so. [Martha hopes that she's the only person he ended up pointing a gun at like that. She gets the feeling that others would have reacted far more harshly than she had. She feels a bit better about handing out that information to him now that she knows he's a friend of Aerith's, though.

She's curious about how the two met, but they should probably focus on the search for Aerith's marble first. A quick scan of the kitchen doesn't reveal anything, so they'll need to look a bit closer.]

Sounds good. [She moves off to the right and starts searching through cabinets, countertops, and even under tables for any sign of a shining green orb. She even looks in the walk-in refrigerator that they have, but there's no sign of it.

Martha wanders back out and glances over to Aerith, shaking her head.] Nothing on this side.

[ With a nod, Aerith goes straight to the toughest spot to tackle (from what she can see at first glance) - a couple of rolling carts and the sink area.

It takes her a few minutes to be thorough, but in the end she comes up empty handed. By the time Martha says something, Aerith's practically finished with her own side. ]

Nothing over here, either. [ She's pretty impressed with how clean they've all managed to keep the kitchen, but otherwise no hide nor hair of Materia. ] I guess that means we take it out into the dining room.

[It doesn't look like Aerith's given up so far, which is good. Honestly, something as small as what she described could be anywhere in the mention depending on where Aerith spent her past few days, so there's still a lot of ground to cover.]

Right. [She moves back out into the dining area and starts to look around more carefully, crouching down here and there to check under the tables. It's always so maddening when you can't find something, especially something important, but she hopes that Aerith doesn't give up.]

Even if we can't find it, the whole mansion knows that you're looking, so it has to turn up eventually. [Unless someone stole it, but if Aerith's Materia truly has no use, why would anyone bother?]

[ The idea of someone stealing it has crossed her mind, and the idea of it makes her uneasy. She tries to shove that consideration to the bottom of the list, a definite last resort. ]

Let's hope. It's possible someone thought it was just a worthless bauble and threw it away. [ She's checking the corners of a booth seat when she pauses, looking thoughtful. ] Where does the trash even go, anyway?

[ No, seriously, there's only limited space here. Unless there's some kind of garbage room she's never seen. Aerith sort of shrugs to herself and continues her check. ]

[That's a good question. A very good question, and one that Martha hasn't thought that hard about until now. She had noticed that the trash bins were usually emptied out come morning, but where did it all go? Did it just vanish into some pocket universe or something convoluted like that?

Of course, it's only one of many disturbing questions having to do with this place.]

I have no idea, to be honest. So let's hope it isn't that. [She doesn't want Aerith's orb to be gone for good, because it seems like that would truly be something heartbreaking for her. Martha continues with her own search, ignoring the pain in her back that comes from walking while half bent over. But that's the easiest way to get a look under all the tables.]

[ It's something to consider, anyway, but Aerith has a feeling this isn't what happened to her Materia. A part of her is convinced that when she returns to her room, it'll be sitting in some obvious spot and she'll feel like she just missed it. ]

I'm sure it isn't. [ She hopes. ] I'll consider that as a last resort, I guess. I'm sure I'll find it before it comes to that point.

[ Aerith's managed to finish her side of the room with no luck, but it's no so surprising at this point. She plops down on a free chair, her eyes still looking around the dining room. ]

You know, I wish it was just a little bit bigger. I probably wouldn't be running into so much trouble finding it right now. [ She props an elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand as she tries to think of anywhere she could have missed in the diner. ] I should have been keeping it in a better place, anyway. I've learned my lesson.

[At least Aerith's keeping a positive attitude about it. Martha's also fairly convinced that it's just been misplaced somewhere and it'll turn up before long, but that doesn't really help with how Aerith's feeling about it now.

As Aerith takes a seat, Martha moves over and sits in the chair across from her, letting out a sigh and appearing apologetic about the lack of success so far.] Where do you usually keep it? [Not that it matters, because it obviously isn't in that spot, but she's still curious. It might offer some kind of insight into where they should look next.]

[ She reaches up to her ribbon, tugging so a piece of it is visible. Her expression is slightly sheepish. While it seemed like a good place to hide it when she was sixteen, now that she's past twenty she should start keeping her valuables in a locked place like a real adult. ]

Tucked up in here. I always make sure it's in there tightly, and it's never been lost like this before. [ She drops her hand, shaking her head at herself. ] I started doing it when I was still a teenager, so it just became a habit. I didn't even think about it half the time, honestly.

It doesn't seem like such a bad idea to me. Honestly, I'm wondering how you could have lost it if it was tied up in your hair most of the time, unless it rolled away while you were sleeping or taking a shower...

[But if that was the case, then the orb would have been somewhere in Aerith's room, and she's already searched there ten times over. Martha feels like they must be missing something obvious here, but she can't come up with anything no matter how hard she thinks about it.]

Do you think it might be outside in the gardens somewhere? [Martha's spotted Aerith out there a number of times in the past, so she knows that it's a common place for her to while away the time.]

That's why I'm so stumped! I'm sure I would have felt it drop, or heard it at least. [ She looks pretty worried for a second before she just frowns, shaking her head. ] It could be outside, but I'm trying to save that for last. There's so many places it could be, and I'm trying to knock out the easier places to look before tackling outside.

[ There's really just no telling. Retracing her steps won't help much, because she's all over the place most of the time, anyway. At least she can mark the diner off her list, though. ]

It's really taught me a lesson. Keep my valuables somewhere safe. That isn't in my hair, anyway. [ And her lips curve up into a small smile, because really getting super upset over it won't help matters. She's more frustrated than anything, but keeping her cool is what's important. ] I was hoping it would be in here, but it's just one less place to look, so at least there's that.

[It does seem strange, but Martha's definitely had things disappear on her before. In ways that seemed completely impossible, at that. It's the sort of thing she almost wants to attribute to some strange time and space anomaly that everyone's just been forced to write off as bad luck.

But in this case, Wonderland is probably to blame. Martha just doesn't know why it would start taking people's valuables all of a sudden. And as far as she knows, Aerith's the only one who's been affected.]

Well, once you find it, maybe you can ask the closet for a jewelry box to keep it in. That might be a bit safer. [But it's true, they've eliminated one place at least. If only the mansion wasn't so big...]

That's a good idea. [ Aerith starts to ponder what kind of box she should get, but then stops herself. She really shouldn't get ahead of herself here, the first step is finding the materia. ]

I think right now I'll try retracing my steps. I've just been searching the obvious places, but it's time for plan B.

[ Not that plan B has much more to it than following whatever paths she's taken the past few days. This will be more of a headache than she anticipated, and she actually rubs her temples for a moment before giving Martha a tired smile. ]

I feel like I'm going crazy. I do appreciate your help, Martha, thank you. I'm glad I had an extra pair of eyes, now I know I didn't miss anything in here.

Retracing your steps is probably the best option at this point, yeah. [Martha's not sure how long that's going to take, though, if Aerith wanders around a lot. She seems like the sort of person who goes all over.]

And you're not crazy. Even if it might feel that way, you're not. [Martha smiles at Aerith, because she realizes that she hadn't really meant that to begin with -- but she can sympathize. When you feel like you just had something and it's nowhere to be found, it's maddening.]

It's no problem at all. I hope that you find it soon.

[ Aerith gives Martha a thankful smile. It helps to have someone confirm that she isn't going insane, at least. She pushes herself out of the seat, a hand going to absently brush the wrinkles out of her skirt. ]

Me, too. I'll let you know how it goes, okay?

[ Martha makes her feel grounded, and Aerith likes that. It's nice to have someone who's able to keep a cool head while she feels like her own is spinning in circles. With a little wave, she leaves the diner, intent on retracing her steps no matter how long it takes. ]

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