Night 62: M-B Block Hallway

[dualistic]

[From here.]

It was only after Harvey had made his way down the first hall and moved into the next one that he realized he still had bandages covering his face. It was wrong that he was getting used to the feeling of the gauze smothering his wounds, but he had no choice when the nurses kept constant watch on him during the day. He'd been too disoriented upon waking up to rip them off the way he usually did in his room.

That wasn't about to stop him now, though. After rearranging some of the items in his hands, he pulled the bandages off with the same amount of roughness -- something that he paid for when some of the dried blood and flesh came with them.

He let out a groan of pain, but that only lasted for a split second before he let the trail of bandages fall to the floor. Seeing how he'd slept so long, it made sense that the gauze had clung to his wounds more than normal.

At least that was taken care of now. With a grunt, Harvey sent a glance around the empty hallway and then exited out through the door.

[To here.]

Comments

[atrabilis]

[From here]

Perhaps it graced impolite to keep to silence as they traversed hallways. For another, Nigredo might have attempted to fill in the holes with a smattering of starter questions. How long had Ritsuka been imprisoned here? How long had the boy known Albedo? Had he meant every word spoken the night prior?

Pain crossed the features of his shadowed face before dissipating. He owed Ritsuka something for yesterday, but the U.R.T.V. hadn't a clue on where to start. Broaching the topic seemed strange. How did one give thanks for being a comfort? Maybe the subject of kind gestures were inappropriate to bring up when walking to another's room.

Perhaps quiet was best for now.

[inamatus]

Nigredo M96. Albedo M58. Nigredo M96. Albedo M58. Ritsuka repeated the names and the numbers over and over in his head like a mantra, trying to make sure they stuck. If anything happened to the boys, if one of them didn't appear at breakfast or failed to show up at dinner, he had to know how to contact them, how to ask after them, and eventually, should the unpleasant happen, where to mourn them. Ritsuka had been here long enough to see just about everyone he knew disappear. Of those that remained, only a handful were there from his first few days.

Trailing after Nigredo, Ritsuka had to wonder how long the boys had been here. Ritsuka had run into Albedo by happenstance. The games on the bulletin catching his attention until one day they met and from there, grew into something that could be called friends, but Ritsuka didn't want to jinx it. As they moved, Ritsuka had to wonder how Nigredo was dealing with everything. He'd brushed it off earlier, but if they were about to see Albedo then...

"...Are you really okay or just saying you are because it's expected that you're supposed to be?" he asked suddenly, before they reached the next hallway.

[atrabilis]

It was Ritsuka who broke the silence between them, and it was Nigredo who was taken aback. They had retraced their steps to a previous concept, to a question Nigredo didn't know how to answer. To everyone else, he might have reaffirmed his original stance, but as stated previously, he was in the other's debt. If nothing else, he was obligated to convey an honest response.

However.

Nigredo paused mid-step and tilted his head to eye the floor. It was some time before he found a voice, but eventually, he gave what skimmed along the depths. "I don't know," the boy murmured. "Sorry. I can no longer tell what is okay and what isn't. A lot of things got ruined along the way." Some vital, others superfluous. All else fractured beyond repair. It struck him how alike the phrases sounded, how it could have come from another source.

He shook his head. "But I'm not saying that for formalities." He didn't think so, at any rate. Green eyes angled toward a familiar door. "There. Albedo should be in."

For the link told nothing else.

[To here.]