The time quickly came for Day to depart, and he was faced with an extremely striking problem that he, and apparently everyone else, in the chaos of finding housing, didn't think about for even a second.
When the group he traveled here with left him behind… They told Day that Aya resided in the Tower of Blades, but what they didn't do, important as it was, was tell him where exactly the Tower of Blades was…
So Day, upon stepping foot outside of the Tower of Dusk, had no choice but to walk around and bother people persistently in an attempt to find out the information he needed.
Weirdly enough, the first few people he spoke to ignored him. Day approached them with a cheery disposition and kept his tone respectful, but even so, it seemed that these people just had no inclination to answer his simple questions, and one of them even cursed at him under baleful breaths and walked away angrily like a drunkard.
Day was always somebody who could go from being a social butterfly to quiet and detached in a single instant. Generally, it was when his 'social meter,' as he called it, depleted completely, which was usually a result of disrespect or ramble from the other party.
And right now, his social meter was reaching an all time low. He had been in a decrepit state for hours and hours on end, and he finally had the chance to fix his ailments in reach– however, people were being rude, and the person who promised to heal him wasn't quite kind enough to give him simple directions so he could navigate a difficult area with many twists and turns effectively.
He wasn't going to say anything when he eventually arrived, but he was human, and it was certainly weighing on his psyche…
Just like everything else, because in truth, everyone here seemed eerily out of it, and Day just couldn't seem to push the thoughts of the people in the outskirts of the castle out of his mind. It felt like nobody really enjoyed being here, and even the people who Day saw laughing in the distance would snap out of it in an instant at just a small look at a certain other person, or in one case, a few guards.
Which was not a good sign at all.
Day sighed as he walked up a flight of stairs.
'I guess that's the problem with really small communities.'
That was what Day wanted to paint it as, since he likely had to stay here for a long, long time… but Day had a feeling there was something else amiss, and he had no way of finding out what exactly it was, but he had a sinking feeling it would have something to do with the way this places hierarchy was structured…
When he reached the top of the flight of stairs he was climbing, he languidly looked around. There were a multitude of towers, all of which were a pain to find the entrance of, and any one of them could be the Tower of Blades.
At that moment, he was in front of what he assumed to be the main keep where supper would be held, partially because of how busy it was compared to everywhere else… but mostly because the building in front of him was towering over him, and it was infinitely larger than any of the others.
Day had a fairly good memory, so despite the fact that his mind was perpetually racing with bitter rancor, he was able to remember the directions to this keep and the way back to his tower.
He spent the next few minutes weaving through the crowd. It wasn't particularly dense, but there were quite a few people bunched up together talking, so Day had to mind himself.
He decided to take a different approach and ask someone who actually looked approachable, so that he did, and it worked like a charm.
The kind lady he asked looked to be somewhere in her twenties. She was around the same height as Day, but more muscular, like she was a body builder. It did shock Day quite a bit at first, and he almost felt inclined to ask what her workout schedule was…
But he didn't. He stayed silent, because he knew that there was really nothing wrong with it in the slightest, and even if he meant no harm, he didn't want to come off as rude.
Day departed from her gaze with a friendly smile and wave, and then he exited the area and went in the direction she told him to.
Funnily enough, the Tower of Blades was right near the main area, which was perfect for Day, because he needed to meet Caster in… well, he didn't know how long, but he did need to meet Caster.
As Day walked, his stress had relieved itself nearly completely. With the fact that the Tower of Blades was near the main keep came the joyful premonition that there would also be people he could ask questions around that area as well, and unsurprisingly, he was correct.
The area was quite full, and the scene was reminiscent of the one he had seen not a dozen minutes before in front of the main keep. People were standing around chatting heartily, laughing, and enjoying themselves in small bunches.
Day took a few steps forward, glanced around for a few moments longer, and then started towards one of the groups he thought looked approachable enough.
"Hello!" Day said cheerily, a wide smile on his face.
Three people looked over at him one by one. First, a slim girl with blonde hair and pink highlights. Then followed by her, a tall, burly man with a bald head looked over at him with a bitter gaze. Finally, a short, perpetually timid looking boy peeked out from behind the tall man with a raised eyebrow.
Day looked right at the blonde girl, and then at the burly man, with the expectation that one of the two of them would speak…
But then his expectations were shattered.
"Do you need something?" The short, timid looking boy said, his tone sharp.
Day actually had to collect himself for a moment. For some reason, he genuinely wasn't expecting him to be the one to speak out of the three of them.
Day rubbed the back of his head with a soft chuckle, and then reached up, put a balled up fist in front of his mouth, and then coughed.
'I really hope he didn't notice my surprise. Was I always this judgy? Jeez…'
"I'm looking for a girl named Aya. since…"
Day looked down at himself and his terribly broken body, and then glanced back up with such an unbelievably wide smile that it was almost palpable.
The three people in front of him all collectively shuddered at his words and then stared at him intensely like he was some sort of maniac. The shift in their demeanor was extraordinarily obvious. It was like they were entirely different people, and when the short boy spoke again…
"Umm," the timid-looking boy started, his tone becoming softer, "right up to the… third floor sir- Haha! I mean, uh… anyway, it's the fifth door to the left."
Day put a thumb up and turned around to start towards the tower.
"Thank you!" He said as he left.
Day wasn't quite sure, and he wanted to grace himself with the inclination to believe that the blonde girl from before didn't say this… but he could have sworn she uttered the words:
"I think we should avoid that guy… He seems, like, genuinely insane."
"..."
Not very long after his exchange with the colorful group, he was standing in front of a tall, wooden door with his eyes set forward on a small metal circle attached to a chain.
Day reached forward, took the cool metal into his hands, lifted the circle up, and then let go. He wasn't quite sure why, but he reeled back slightly when the object slammed into the door and glanced both ways wearily like he had done something terribly wrong.
However, his fear was short lived, as not a few seconds after he let the circle slam into the door, a familiar female voice tore through the air.
"Coming!"
Aya's tone was slightly bitter.
Day stood there for a few moments swaying back and forward awkwardly. Then, suddenly, the door swung open and Aya's tilted head shot out. She had her deep, purple eyes squinted at him, and her long, black hair was dripping wet and cascading straight down. Her entire body was out of sight. Day stared at her for a few moments silently and contemplatively, unsure what to say.
"Um," Day started, "do you need a few mo-"
Suddenly, the door swung wide open. Day, without thinking, completely averted his gaze and covered his eyes with his forearm.
The one and only thought that crossed his mind in that moment was:
'Is she insane?!'
"What the hell are you doing?" Aya said, genuine confusion laced beneath her voice.
"H-huh? What?
Day uncovered his eyes, and then, with his head still looking to the left, he looked in her direction with his eyes alone. She was fully dressed in an oversized, short sleeve shirt that, for some reason, ran down to under her knees.
Day turned his head to look at her, and he could feel his face becoming warmer out of embarrassment.
"Come inside and take a seat." Aya said, before turning away and waltzing across the room.
Day frowned deeply and walked inside. The room itself was very similar to the one he lived in when it came to size, however, it looked more… musical? He didn't know how to describe it, because in truth, it did feel, in a way, just as bland as his own room.
There was a violin in the corner of the room, and another violin… and there was also, for some reason, a weird looking piano. Day wasn't sure why, but he thought it felt very out of place for a piano to be in the Dream Realm, even if it wasn't entirely implausible for one to be built.
"How did you get a piano?" Day suddenly asked.
Aya was now standing at a dresser with a large piece of glass acting as a pseudo mirror on top of it leaning against the wall behind. She was brushing her hair in long strokes, and there was still water dripping to the floor beneath. Day had not a single clue how she could have possibly washed her hair, since he didn't see even a trace of a bucket, or anything of the sort, but he wasn't going to question it.
It took a few moments of awkward silence before she responded. When she turned around, she smiled at him and said:
"Isn't it cool? I got it built like two years ago. It took me forever before I found someone who was able to make one, but it was really worth the money…"
Day, upon hearing this, had a new question rise in his mind– how long exactly had Aya been on the Forgotten Shore?
Aya, Melri and Remi all looked to be somewhere in their twenties. Day had noticed it, but until now, it never fully registered in his mind that some of the Forgotten Shore's people may have been here for an extremely long time. Day had only just gotten here, and he was only sixteen… so the prospect of spending a long time here was dreadful.
"How long exactly?" Day asked curiously.
Aya, for the first time since their meeting, beamed happily and responded cheerily.
"Well, let me think… I started wanting one about six years ago, ah, though, I did have the thought about seven years ago… so arguably, it took me about seven years to get this built. I guess that's sort of dramatic though, in truth, it only really took me six months, since I started searching about two and a half years ago…"
Day spaced out for a moment upon receiving the maelstrom of information from a happy Aya. For some reason, he couldn't help but recall the two small interactions he had with Aya so far. The first was rather bitter, since she very quickly shooed him off, and the second was… Well, she mocked him slightly, but he didn't really care that much about that, the group he traveled with was quite friendly, and he didn't mind that.
'She's real cheery today… I guess I don't need to worry then. She'll… probably treat me kindly?'
Day snapped out of his stupor and smiled at her. Then, he spoke with genuine interest.
"That's cool! I've always been interested in piano, I took a few classes as well, but… it's pretty difficult. I suck at it."
Aya nodded.
"I get it. It's a lot to manage, especially when you start getting into the territory of flats, sharps, and the petal. But…"
Aya put her hand on her chin for a moment, and then smiled joyfully.
"If you ever find interest again, come see me. I'd be willing to teach you. These days, piano is the only thing I find interesting, but at times, even that isn't quite enough to quench my thirst for entertainment when I have down time… so you would be a good filler… or uh, sorry, teaching you would be a good filler. "
'I'm just going to act like she didn't say that last part…'
Day nodded at her in confirmation, and then glanced over at the two violins resting in the corner of her room and raised an eyebrow.
"You have two Violins… Do you really not find it fun?"
Aya frowned and shook her head.
"Not really. I don't like the Violin all that much,even though it's quite pretty when you get good at it. It's just… Well, you've seen me use my Aspect Ability. I've been playing mediocre violin for years upon years, so it's really grown on me negatively."
Day shrugged.
"Since it's your Aspect Ability, you have all the time in the world to make it pretty. I think you can do it."
"Thanks for your kind words." Aya said with a chuckle. "
"Sadly," Aya started, "I can't reasonably get good at it. Unlike piano, which is much more free, Violin feels exceedingly difficult to get good at without some sort of guide. Maybe I'm just not talented at it, but I don't think I'll ever be able to get good at it… since…"
Aya looked down, and then turned around to look in the mirror. Day could see her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes held a certain, unmistakable sorrow, and Day involuntarily averted his gaze.
For some reason, he felt like he was seeing something he shouldn't see.
"Well, anyway… How about you take a seat on the bed?"
"Um… Is there anything I need to do before we begin?" Day asked wearily.
Aya smirked.
"Well, you need to be prepared to take a nice, long nap, unless of course, you want to be awake as your body is painfully rebuilt thread by thread, bone by bone…"
Day frowned and walked over to the bed. He wasn't sure if that was an attempt to intimidate him, but it was not working as intended if it was.
'I don't think she described it with enough detail to scare me…'
"How long will it take? I did say I was going to meet… my companion, at nightfall."
Aya shrugged.
"I could wake you up in a couple hours, but that'd be difficult for me in the long run. The longer I let you sleep, the faster you will heal."
Day took a seat, and then opened his mouth slightly. He wasn't quite sure what to say. He didn't want to make it difficult for her, however…
"If I don't show up on our first ever rendezvous point, we may end up losing each other for a long time. Could you spare me the effort just this once? I can do something to make it up to you…"
Aya huffed, and then walked over to the corner of her room and picked up her violin. From out of nowhere, a long, perfectly manufactured bow materialized in a whirlwind of sparks.
"I don't need you to do anything for me, I think you've done more than enough for me and my companions… I just thought it'd be worth a shot to give a small effort to coax you out of it. Either way you need to come back again multiple times in the next week, so it doesn't really matter."
Day sighed in relief as Aya brought the bow up to her violin. She moved it up and down quickly, creating a sharp sound, and then she spoke again. Her voice, this time around, was much, much softer– like a doctor softly putting one down into bed for surgery.
Not that he would know much about that… He never had surgery before.
"It was Day, right?" Aya said slowly.
Day nodded.
"Do me a favor and lay back for me then. It'll be over in a blink of the eye…"
Day almost opened his mouth to ask her if it was okay to lean back in her bed, since he hadn't showered in such a long time, but he didn't.
He simply did as he was told, and soon enough, he felt his consciousness fading away as a whirlwind of soothing sounds coaxed him into a deep sleep's warm embrace.