( see the secrets in the room full of stars. destroy the spheres before the masked ones take them.

it's no real secret to anyone that knows him well that he's never been much for riddles — or anything that requires a lot of extensive thought, because he would so much rather go, do, be than sit, wait, and process. that being said, it should come to no surprise to literally anyone that he doesn't know a thing about what he's supposed to be doing in this department of mysteries, because as far as he's concerned, mysteries are better solved by. like. detectives, or something like that? there's a cocoon-equivalent for that somewhere. we're sure of it.

so, he's looking around. and so, he's taking in his surroundings with more than a modicum of interest, because this is the kind of thing you really don't see everyday, unless you're used to departments and mysteries and everything in between in your day-to-day.

the phrase dumb luck might have followed him around his entire life, but it may or may not be about to run out, depending on the next couple of minutes and what he decides to do with them; he hasn't, so far, run into any of the beasties released from their cages but he does pass a fountain with a not-at-all-suspicious-looking statue at its center, and he has to stop, if only for a second or two or seven, to really look at it.

he hasn't gotten close enough for a tentacle monster to nab him yet, but he isn't exactly small, which makes him easy to grab — only time will tell if he keeps on standing there, or decides to see what else this mysterious department holds for him.

hopefully not tentacles, but. no one's fate is written in stone. unless you're a l'cie, in which case it absolutely is, but we're not thinking about that right now, are we? )

( destroy the spheres before the masked ones take them.

yeah, yeah, he remembers. and trust him, he's got an idea of what it means to fulfill one's prophecy or focus, even if it's much more literal in his own case, and there's a constant thorn in his side when he thinks about what had set the whole thing in motion in the first place.

( he isn't bitter, he isn't bitter at all but he reserves the right to think he has the right to be. if he chose to be. which he hasn't. )

he knows where he's supposed to be headed — at least in the very general sense, like a pull in the direction he needs to go as opposed to having any real navigational prowess ( listen, there's a reason he doesn't lead the group wherever they're going, okay ); the spheres he passes first are dark, almost to the point of passing beyond his notice until he finds one that shines a bit more brightly, a soft green that almost seems pleasant until he realizes that these are all futures that have yet to happen, and for some reason need to be stopped.

( some prophecies are bad, he knows, or at least thinks. some things just don't need to come to pass and some things do, and so he has a general understanding of why he's here —

but that doesn't mean he knows for sure whether or not these to-be-destroyed prophecies are good. or bad.

and that might result in hesitance. )

he's close enough to reach out with a gloved hand toward the sphere he needs to grab, but halts at the last second. right next to it, the same shade of every other sphere he isn't supposed to touch, is one with a name that will always make his heart clench tight in his chest.

serah farron.

it's the only reason he gives pause, because he has to wonder, has to know — what has he missed, what is he missing that hasn't already come to pass, what yet lies ahead in their tentative future that would find her name in a place like this.

it's what allows a death eater to come within range of him, and he grabs not only the sphere he's supposed to be getting but serah's as well, tucking them both somewhere ( hopefully ) safe inside his coat before he rounds with fists clenched and teeth bared, like he's ready to face down death itself.

well. it's not inaccurate. not entirely. )

( this is the part where you close your eyes and pick an option, or make up something new, or hit me up at boldly if you wanna brainstorm something specific! :> )