Day 63: Black Rock Inn (Morning)

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar was at least thankful that Claude had told him about the various bits of this world that still eluded him. The technologies and customs were clearly a good deal ahead of his own. It was something of a culture shock. He decided he might as well take a good look around, seeing that Claude had made it clear that this place was well-patrolled. Any thoughts of running off were gone. There was no point in getting caught and potentially drugged.

The Ishbalan wandered into the first building he saw upon getting off the bus. It seemed to be a hotel of sorts. The architecture was a bit different than the rest of the town, but also more in tune with something he might have seen in Central. Interesting.

The interior didn't seem to have anything of intrigue. It was... just a hotel. Scar settled down near the fireplace to think. Would these slips of paper let him buy anything that might be useful to him come nighttime?

[For L!]

Comments

[ryuuzaki]

L stood near the buses, scanning the crowd. His initial impression appeared to be correct: Lunge wasn't among the patients who were emerging and dispersing. He might have been too sick to come along, and too sick to leave his room the night before, but that was only the least unsettling possibility (and not particularly comforting, in the scheme of things). It wasn't imperative that they talk right away; locating Lunge was the important thing.

It was early yet, and cold enough that L was relieved to have a coat to take the chill off, even if its fabric was thin and fading. His own clothes were better quality than this, but he didn't mind the shabbiness... it was comfortable, broken in. The same was true of the sweater. Only its garishness was objectionable.

Still, even after the medication the nurse had given him, and even with clothes that were warm enough for the weather, his limbs felt heavy and his head ached. The clear morning light didn't help. He found that what he most wanted to do, prior to other activities, was to sit and rest a while longer.

He could do that in a few places. There was the coupon for the massage, but at the moment, he didn't feel like being touched. There were restaurants, but he'd probably have to order something, and since he had no appetite for it yet, it would force him to sacrifice food he would have eaten later in the day. That left the inn, which also had the advantage of close proximity to where the buses had let the patients off. He could sit in a comfortable chair by the fire there. The fire would certainly be lit today, with this snap in the air.

When he reached the lobby, he saw that he wasn't the only patient who'd had the same idea. Sometimes the necessity of conversing with people at Landel's annoyed him, and his physical discomfort meant that this morning wouldn't be an exception, but he wouldn't show it if he could help it; if he did show it, he would be able to pass it off as irritation with his illness, or with the Head Doctor. Some of the conversations proved useful, and it was never a bad thing to know what kind of people he had been thrown in with, even if his time had just been wasted in every other sense.

He made his way to the fire and dropped into the nearest chair, pulling his knees up to his chest. The warmth seeped pleasantly into his clothes, then into his limbs, then his bones.

L regarded the other patient with desultory interest. He had seen the big man around in the previous few days: his bulk, his shock of white hair, and the prominent X-shaped scar on his face all made him hard to miss. But L hadn't been close enough to notice his eyes until now. Red?

"Is this your first time in Doyleton?" His voice was soft, almost a murmur. He expected that the answer would almost certainly be yes.

[envy_the_sinners]

The Ishbalan looked up from his generic 'stare and the floor and brood' position. His immediate reaction was to thank Ishbala that he hadn't been forced to wear something like this other man had. Then the question was easy enough to answer.

"Yes."

What a... strange way to sit. Maybe he was just cold. The younger man also gave off a slightly awkward air. This never went particularly well for Scar- He was quite awkward himself.