Curiosity Is Her Name..... (Mezuku/Closed)

Cyril was told of this certain room from another Velvet Attendant by the name of Shi. Funny how, he had never noticed the doors out in Ueitawa even when he had his Persona, save for the ones that led to Limbo. And now that Shi told him, suddenly he would every so often, catch doors around town that were unlike the doors to Limbo. They were not a crimson red, but a very noticeable shade of blue. Like....velvet. Clever he would think. He found a door that actually was not too far off from his home, only under the bridge on the side that his house was on, which was a bit of a walk, but doable. When he made it there, he would also find a red crimson door conveniently placed next to it. 'That will end up being useful later on...' he would think before looking to see if anyone was around, and then grabbing the door handle of the velvet door when he saw he was alone, and opening it to walk in.

Cyril would soon see a large blue room. He would look around, his chest tightening slightly, mostly from shock. Then again, things like this should not shock him at this point. But here he was; in some other world perhaps. He almost felt like this room was all alone, in wherever it was. He had no way of knowing, but he just felt that way. He would look to see other people dressed in blue, walking around, or attending to whatever they needed to do. He noticed one attendant in particular was chewing on a small white stick, that he could only compare to a lollipop. He soon left through another blue door, seemingly doing nothing before doing so. He would look and see a mirror at one side of the room, not too far from where he was. It was so see through, yet he could not see himself in it. He would have to look later on and see what it really was.

Cyril was just perplexed. He found himself pacing around the room, taking looks at the walls, the mirror once more, some other doors, some being red, which presumably led into Limbo. He would not open the door, and instead keep wandering the area he had first entered into, just looking to find things he had not seen yet. Contrary to the outside, he felt content, and calm in this room, unlike the winter that continued outside. His mismatched eyes, his left being a sky grey, and the other being a natural brown, would continue to look around.

Lola leaned against the wall of the velvet room, waiting for just about anything to happen; either to run out for the day or for someone to give her an excuse to stay in the blue drenched room. Which reminded her: wasn’t velvet a shade of purple, not blue? Maybe she was wrong about that. She would have to figure out why this place was called the “velvet room” and the “zaffre room” the next chance she got. That would probably take a lot of work though, definitely more than an hour. Maybe Igor could just tell her and make her life a little easier. She could also really use something to keep her entertained; perhaps a book from the library in the outside world or some sort of card game. Either would work for her at this point. Then again, she probably couldn’t bring it back anyway because it was proof that she had left.
She was about to give up and go outside when someone stepped into the room. Her left eyebrow rose as she stared at the man who had just entered through the door and wandered from here to there in no particular pattern. In her entire time, she could not remember seeing him before, so she decided to offer him all the hospitality the velvet room had to offer. With a charming smile and a twinkle in her eye, she stood up straight and went closer to him, trying to stay in front of him so he would notice her. With one swift movement, after judging that she was close enough, she closed her eyes and bowed to him, “Hello and welcome, Mr. User.” She stood up again and looked him in the eyes. Normally, she figured it would be unnerving to see someone with different colored eyes, but she was just fascinated by the look of them, “May I ask what you’ve come for today?” She tried to keep her composure, but the need to ask him about his eyes was beginning to boil to the surface.

As he was pacing the room, he would stumble a bit and almost run into a woman around his height, with extremely white hair walk to him. What was odd is that they seemed to bring out her eyes, which were practically emerald in color, if he was correct of hues. Or, she may have essentially jumped in front of him. Either way, he was able to keep his balance and not topple into the woman. 'Is she like Shi...? This girl lives here...?' he would think. He watched her bow, a bit confused as to why she did so. Does she know Japanese culture? Or do people in here bow as well? 'Why am I even questioning this...?' he said scratching his head a bit. But in his defense, he was curious about everything in this room, and had enough questions to ask, why not one more?

He gave a smile when she bowed. "Hello. I am Cyril. I have, actually never really been here. But you know I have a Persona...?" he would ask. It was weird saying the word 'Persona' out of battle if he wasn't calling the name of his own. He was sure he had never met this girl as well, how would she know? Then again, he obviously came in here, so common sense probably hit her. He would take another look at a side of he room as she asked why he was here. "I have never been here before. And one other person that lives here told me of this place. I wanted to know what it was, so I could keep it in mind," he said. He noticed the red foreboding door to Limbo once more thinking. 'That may be useful in time. Maybe there are doors to here from Limbo...probably...' he thought turning his face back to her, his expression now a bit neutral.

She laughed a little under her breath, “If you’re here, you are either an attendant or you can use a Persona. I figured that the look of confusion on your face meant you weren’t from here; hence you are a user of some sort. As for the doors, most of them lead two ways. That is the rule of a door, after all. Unless of course the door is ‘pull’ and has no handle. In that case you will most definitely get stuck. I think that’s a cruel and sick joke though.” She cleared her throat to get back on topic, “Regardless, this is a fairly good place to keep in mind. It may come in handy in the future.”
She looked at the expressionlessness on his face and she lost her formality, “Okay. Please show some kind of reaction to your surroundings. The cold, dead stare is really creepy. Seriously, you are in a completely blue room where a bunch of people live, and your face says that you regard this the same as a walk in the park. That is such a weird reaction to have. I have to wonder if you’re not a little lost in the head. It’s terrifying.” After realizing what she said, she cleared her throat again, “That isn’t what I meant to say. I meant to ask about your eyes. Why are they two different colors? I’ve never seen that before. It’s pretty interesting. ” Upon hearing the words come out of her mouth, she immediately shut up. If she didn’t know better, even she wouldn’t believe she was an attendant. She didn’t expect him to believe it either. Her own brain was working against her today.

Cyril was actually a bit surprised to hear her laugh. She has only met two Attendants of the Velvet Room, this woman, and Shi. And the stark contrast of her emotionless silence, to this girl's ability to at least have a sense of humor, was very noticeable. No offense to Shi, Cyril could never be grateful enough for her help, but Attendants apparently come in different shapes and sizes. He laughed a bit when she explained of a door, and then cleared her throat. He didn't know why really, he just found it funny. And it was the first time in a while that when someone came to him to meet him, they actually seemed to make a good impression.

However, the moment she spoke about his neutral expression, he lost his cool for a second. His face was that scary? Surely not; Cyril looked about as scary as a cheerful baby, and at the same time, he did not particularly deny what she was getting at. For much of his life, he just grew expressionless for it. He would feel inside, but not express it in anything but words outside. It was only when he obtained his Persona, that he would start giving faces of anger, joy, or grief, and not feel that making a face required too much muscle movement in his face, which until now, was depressingly, his logic, if it wasn't just being too lazy.

In the seconds she was explaining herself, for whatever reason, he laughed again, not really because of what she was saying, but she was saying it in such a way that just made her seem like he was talking to a curious, young girl, instead of a wise, knowledgeable Attendant; though he enjoyed it nonetheless. "S-Sorry about that," he managed stuttering slightly. "I really am surprised about this place, honest." He would make a face of sincerity, however laughing once more, still finding it a bit humorous, especially when her tone shifted quite abruptly. "You seem a bit two-faced," he said smiling at the attendant. He would hold out his hand for a handshake. Should she take it or not, he would introduce himself. Formalities is important, perhaps even more so if these Attendants helped the ones with a Persona. "My name is Cyril Vaans." if she introduced herself, she would look around the room in curiosity and look back at her. "What do you do here specifically?" he would ask. If she didn't introduce herself, he would smile. "Don't you have a name?" he would say, and ask the same question, of what they did in this Velvet Room.

It was obvious that something she said had taken him slightly aback. She wasn’t sure what it was though, and didn’t know if it was a bad thing. She was at least glad to hear that he was not a blank slate and could feel surprise. Humans really were strange in the way they worked. “Two-faced?” When she heard him say that, she had to check and see if she knew what the word meant. She couldn’t remember ever hearing it before, and his face didn’t seem to say it was a bad word, so she laughed. If she should be offended, she didn’t feel that way. Maybe she had to learn terminology a bit better.
Her brain trailed off for a moment, until he held out his hand to her. She stared at it in wonder and gently grabbed in with her own, “Cyril? Does that mean anything? As for my name, I’m Lola de Pianura. That’s what everyone calls me, anyway. Sorry if it’s hard to say. You can just call me Lola. I help out Users here. That’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s simple enough, I guess.” She pulled her hand away from his, “Do come around anytime you need us.”

He smiled when she laughed. Either she had her humor, or she was just trying to smooth over the topic. Either way, she had good intentions. He would shake hands with her smiling when she took it. She didn't seem like she knew what it was, so he felt like he had to explain. "It is a greeting humans do sometimes. Lately it has been less of a handshake that really is only used in very formal meetings," he said, trying to pick the right words so she knew what he was talking about. For all he knew, she could barely be exploring Ueitawa, or have not been there at all. Maybe she could be helpful to him and he would love that idea. He would think on it before smiling once more to explain.

"Cyril is a word in another language, Greek specifically if you know what Greek is. It does mean 'Lord', but I dunno why my parents would give that name to me. I am not really a leader of any kind. I usually end up following," he would explain. 'Lola de Pianura'? Surely her name was a language. It meant something, maybe a flower for the word 'Lola' and...his mind left him. He was more listening to her explanation of what he did. "It is. I am glad to have your help," he would say. He would take another look at the red door leading into Limbo. He was half tempted to explore it alone, but the problem was, he was clearly alone, and had no help. But he would look at Lola. "Is there anything you can tell me about Limbo? If you know anything that is," he said. He didn't know of anything at all about it. He was eager for anything he could get on it.

“Ah, I see. In that case, I will just wave. That’s seems to be a lot less formal. Formality isn’t my thing, if I can help it.” Once again, she watched the look on his face as he thought. It was fascinating, in its own way. Even the explanation of his own name brought the look across his face. She never thought that look could cross a person’s face if they already knew the answer to a question. Then again, maybe he was questioning it. Questioning things just came naturally to some people, just like it did her. Or maybe he was simply just confused, which would also make him seem as if he were questioning. That reminded her, where was he even from. Did he just exist on the other side, or was he planning to go back somewhere? As far as she knew, all humans stayed in public places. That seemed unnerving to her though.
As soon as he mentioned Limbo, her mind came back to the conversation, “Limbo is a place where creatures known as Shadows reside. They stalk humans that are on the brink of an emotional trauma. Normal people can’t see it, which may be a good thing. It is dangerous though, so I wouldn’t advise you to go alone. Maybe you can find a friend or two to take.” She pointed at the red door, “Do not take the trip lightly, or you may regret it. Always be ready for the worst, but hope for the best.”  She smiled again, “Just one request, if I may? When you come to visit next time, could you bring something from your world? I’d like to know what it’s like and what you do there.”

He nodded at her affirmation to wave. He was actually a bit bewildered by this girl. And yet he felt comfortable, like all people with Personas should be if walking in here. "I expected all Attendants to be formal and very...void for lack of a better word. But you seem to act...well, like humans do," he said. Maybe it was a stupid thing to say, considering the fact that the attendants themselves are very human-like in form. He could very well enjoy coming to this place for comfort when being alone at his house simply was not enough, which for whatever reason, it was starting to get a bit gloomy around there.

He did not know how long he was in the Velvet Room, well he did, it was a few minutes, but he didn't know if time seemed to work in this place in the same way the outside did. He probably could assume that it isn't that bad of a difference, since no one would be able to be assisted if they went in one minute, and the next minute there was a nuclear holocaust when they came out. But this would be something to keep in mind. He nodded when she explained Limbo, a bit disappointed since she seemed to know as much as any other Attendant: Shadows are there, don't go alone, and try not to be a an idiot. "Alright...well, thanks anyway. I will probably leave now, and I will come back another day," he said. He almost turned to leave when Lola smiled, asking him a certain favor. 'She seems a bit curious....' he would think. He smiled back and nodded. "No problem. You'll have to come sometime. See ya Lola," he said before turning to the door, and walking out.

He came out, and no one was around under the bridge of Yoro. What was also peculiar is that the sun was still in the same position as before. He also noticed that he didn't really...exit the room like he would Limbo. In Limbo, he physically walked through the door, but here, when he walked out, he saw himself looking at the door, the same spot where he was when he walked in. Was that all in his head? Did he have to walk in like before? He checked his phone, and the phone had not even went forward a minute in his absence. "That's insane..." he said aloud. This is something he has to learn about in the future on the side. He put his phone away, and began to traverse home.

((EXIT))

As she heard him explain that he thought all attendants had the same personality, she sighed, “Formality is the name of the game, but it’s boring. We’re just doing our job.” It made her light up inside to hear him say that she acted like a human though. Had she really picked up that many habits from watching them, or maybe she was always like that and it just took her awhile to figure it out. She would probably need to do more research on the topic of personality. And with that, she had an excuse to go off to the human world. Thank you for all the wonders of the world. Maybe she’d try ice-cream or a burger while she was there. She’d heard many good things about them. Wait, did those count as wonders or was she getting her information wrong again.
Her eyes widened when he invited her to visit the outside world, “That would be lovely, but I may have to work it out with my oh so busy attendant schedule.” She giggled just a little, and bowed to him again, “Goodbye, Cyril. Please, come again when you need us. We’ll always be waiting.” Or we’ll be out exploring your world. But, chances are someone will be here. She only lifted her head when she was sure that he had left. Seeing that he was gone, she went back to lean against the wall again and formulate her plan to escape to the other side of that door.

((End))