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 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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