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Sitting and pitying himself felt better than Riyel could have ever realized. Noone else was going to comfort him. Why comfort the villain? The thought of that was almost funny enough to make him chuckle...almost. As he stood there by the door, itself opening to reveal Kalay and Lisanna, the latter of which had probably given him an abhorrent look, but the fact was that he really did not care at this point. Whatever reputation that he had garnered for himself was immediately shattered moments prior, and personally, there seemed to be no way to regain the respect he lost. No look came from Riyel to those who were entering the room, not at Ellale, not at Nona, and not even at Lloyd. Why would he do such a thing? He'd be embarrassed to admit that he knew himself at all. But perhaps it was time to enter the room now, as well.

Looking up, at a man that was standing near him, Riyel only gave the curious stranger a whimsical look. Never before had he seen the man, nor was he sure any other individual here had. Riyel knew most that traversed throughout these halls and this man was obviously a newcomer...curious. Swallowing the self pity that he had moments prior, he continued to give an analyzing glance at the though provoking stranger. There was just something about him that made Riyel feel not threatened but more alert to the people around him. Any feelings of self pity were immediately tossed aside at the man's presence. Not knowing why, Riyel only looked at him once more before giving a sharp nod to him and turning away towards the door, entering quietly and standing in the back. Not once did he look at his blonde friend or any others that were in the room, only looking at Sou-Ho. Riyel's face had once again turned into that set of stone that it had been moments prior to dancing with Nona....but he sure as hell did NOT look at her either.

Huh....out of the frying pan and soon to be thrown into an open flame. Did he use that phrase correctly? Well...it certainly did NOT matter now. As he stood there in the back, his eyes continuing to watch Sou-Ho deliver the overall summary of the mission and the selective details, no thoughts really ran through his mind. Rather, it was just an empty and vacant stare that was almost comparable of a trance. The information flowed into his mind and while it was processed, he really did not comprehend the immensity of it until Sou-Ho simply closed his mouth and allowed the others to realize the weight that had been placed upon them. Riyel had continued to stare. Yet, in an instant, he snapped out of it while his mind began to fully grasp all of the information that had been thrust upon them. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Ellale and Tae tense up at what Sou-Ho had told them about this mission. It was understandable. But for the first time upon hearing something like this, Riyel wasn't the first to be shivering in anticipation or apprehension. A feeling of wear hit him instead.

A Sorceress...of all things, a Sorceress. Fairy tales were all that Riyel seemed to know about him, his knowledge being based around those thigns that his grandmother and in an odd bit of memory, his parents had told them. That made an even greater feeling of atrophy press onto his body. They had already escaped narrowly with their own lives just a few days ago, and now someone thought it would be funny to send the still worn graduates into a second level of Hell, prospectively the third or fourth level? Obviously. Riyel only looked at Lloyd, trying to obtain some stray thought from the man's movements but nothing was given to him. Nona had walked out of the room, himself catching this from the corner of his eye. Off to do her own thing, supposedly. Slowly, his eyelids closed as he leaned back against the wall, his eyes seeing darkness as he went over the information once more in his head. It was time to see what his own thoughts on this were.

The Sorceress Edea. A deadly task in the middle of a hostile environment. It could be considered comical but there was no time for comedy as it seemed. Nor is there time for regret. No time for regret. The thought had surfaced in his head before he could realize it. No time for regret. A phrase that could easily cover the entirety of this night. Two teams, Red and Blue...he would be assaulting the Sorceress. Something caught in the blonde's throat as he stood, a glance at Sou-Ho then the new man, Varitas, who would be accompanying them on their way there. He merely nodded at the group, departing with few words: "Enjoy this." Those two words could refer to anything...but Riyel was referring to the night, for it was all that they would have left, "Be ready in the morning." His voice wasn't light, it was hard and full of an odd drive, walking out of the room and closing the door without another second passing by.

There was no noise that filled his ears. He was consumed in his own thoughts and not even the cacophony of music could pierce through the veil that he had placed over his ears and mind. He passed by a group of other SeeD graduates, brushing past them roughly and heading to the elevator. They only looked at the blonde as he passed, not even commenting on how he had knocked through them. They had seen the commotion in the ballroom and just knew that something else was pestering the SeeD. With a quick punch of the button, he was heading down to the main floor, walking up to the pool and looking in the water.

Was he afraid? Usually, he would have immediately shook his head in response to that. That last mission was a good example. There was that pre-disposed weakness to the entity known as death. The thing that had taken his parents, from what his grandmother had said...and the thing that had taken his grandmother. His hand immediately went to the Ocarina that continued to lay in the pouch by his heart. Sitting down for a moment, he took off his Ocarina and his shoes before simply stepping into the reflection pool. It may seem stupid or even crazy but what did it matter to him? This could be his last night...and he would do as he desired for the moment. And it wasn't like it drastic. He simply stepped into the middle of the pool and looked up, the stars being bright in the sky. Beauty. That was the word for it. The only proper one anyway. He knelt down and grasped the water in his hands, sending ripples throughout the entirety of the pool. But even as he did what was doing, he still thought. No...there wasn't any fear...at least not by itself. He could presume that everyone felt that stab of fear, a natural sense that was accustomed to any normal human entering a dangerous situation. With it, there was a sense of odd clarity, finalty, and...a sense of a challenge. Maybe Salem's headbutt had caused more damage to him than he realized. His eyes continued to look at the stars, this time on the pool surface. No regrets.

It could be his last night here...on this Garden. In this place that he called home. He stepped out of the pool and placed his shoes on, grasping the pouch and continued walking. Still, he did not head back to his room. His mind was thriving, even though there was a weight of tiredness on his back. Simply, he walked outside, sitting on the steps. There wasn't much else to think about. The inclination to go to sleep was just not there yet, which became more apparent as he pulled out the Ocarina from the pouch and placed it to his mouth. Thus, did he begin to Play. There was nothing else he felt like doing this night.