damned_institute | Day 66: Courtyard

Anise still felt awful. She hadn’t even bothered using make-up to cover her rash today – one glance was enough to tell she was sick anyway. The fever had been persisting for the past couple days, sometimes getting better or worse, but never quite going away. She was tired and sore and sweaty, and she knew she looked awful.

But there were still things to be done. She needed to talk to Barnaby, for one, though she hadn’t managed to catch the guy. She left a note on the bulletin, hoping he was present and willing to talk.

With that done, Anise took the bagged lunch she was handed and made her way out into the Courtyard. She didn’t want a whole lot of people seeing her looking so sick, and besides, the cool air felt nice against her skin. Anise walked for a while, finding a secluded place far from the doors, and sat herself down on a bench. She hadn’t eaten at breakfast, and she was really hungry… but she still didn’t feel like actually eating. As a sort of compromise, she started by taking a few sips from the juice box.

[For Ilia!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So far, Kyousuke's day had been almost an exact repetition of the previous, so when offered a choice, he considered going somewhere he hadn't been yet for an illusion of variation. But the in the end, he ended up following the same pattern after all, the desire for fresh air winning out over other options. This would probably be his only only chance to get out for today, and he wasn't used to being shut in for so long.

Despite having spent a good portion of the day on a couch, he was beginning to struggle with his injured rib again, but thankfully, the nurse offered him some pain medication with his lunch. She nearly took away the cold compress he'd been using since he was heading outside, but he was able to convince her to let him keep it with the compromise that he'd put on a coat. He'd had a lot worse in terms of cold, but he went along with it anyway, not seeing any use in arguing.

Once outside, he settled into a bench overlooking the pond and began to eat.

[ for ~~a child terror~~ Albedo! ]

Waking came late; far too deep into the day for any sort of comfort. His brother's presence, recognized, had been awake for a while now--the same thick illness permeating his brother's waveform.

But Albedo would take steps toward that. Just as he'd taken the first steps toward another level of protection for Nigredo. He just needed to again wait until night fell.

Until then, he would be the perfect little patient, and plan out things that could be done. This, somehow, took him into the courtyard, and honestly, Albedo had no qualms against it. It was remembered as the first place both younger siblings had seen snow, and for that, he was open to it. There was more than a few people around, none of which being Nigredo, and Albedo idled towards one by himself--a boy with... interesting hair, and markings beneath his eyes. The bioweapon was strangely solemn, at least by his standards, and to that, he offered a peaceful half-smile. "Enjoying the day?"

It wasn't too long before someone called out. Kyousuke could almost be disappointed, but that's how things seemed to be here. He'd just have to get used to not having many moments alone. He was a little surprised when he caught sight of the speaker, though, since the boy looked far closer in age than anyone Kyousuke had spoken to so far. He'd almost thought he was the youngest here, so this was less isolating, in a way.

But the question itself, he could only snort at. "... I'm here, aren't I?" he pointed out. That was answer enough, as far he was concerned. The day itself hadn't been terrible so far, but things were what they were, and temporary peace was only that.

The boy rocked on his heels, a smile resting lightly on his face. "You are, indeed! In one of the nicest places this institute has to offer. There are far less interesting places to keep yourself in." The courtyard was even a favorite to Albedo, if he could be said to have them. If he had to be truthful, his favorite place would likely be the showers, for the sheer fact of how much he had been able to spend time with Nigredo there.

"You're relatively new, though," Albedo went on. There were few enough of his age group for Albedo to know nearly all of them, and this person.... "It's possible you haven't been able to explore everything this place has to offer."

... Was that supposed to be a joke? Kyousuke raised a brow at it, but offered no comment in return. Sure, the courtyard was nice in its own way, but so were some prisons. God Eden had been like that, too—a hell that matched its namesake only by the scenery. Of course, the horrors of that place paled in comparison to this one... Which made the next words from the other boy's mouth that more bewildering. Offered?

"Like what?" he pressed. "... I've seen enough. You can't seriously be suggesting there's something here that makes all that worthwhile." Brainwashing, people turning into things they weren't supposed to be, and everything else that went on here... There was no way there was anything that could actually overturn any of that.

Ah, he asked the perfect question. The boy did not display full doubt or denial, but only asked for solutions. A pretty puzzle to be sure; Albedo could at least appreciate it.

A hand went through his bangs, brushing them from his eyes. "Like what," he echoed. "There's much and many, to be honest. If you have the capability to believe it." He smiled as if in challenge, then tilted his head further. "People claim to have died before coming here, and so there's a second chance at life. People claim to have never existed fully at all, and so they have a chance at life in general. People are able to spend time with those that they never would have, given fate's allowance, and some of the alterations created in this place are the very things needed to redeem a soul."

He shrugged beatifically. "There's other things of course, but those are what people will hold above all else."

Kyousuke's eyes narrowed at his question being echoed back at him, more so at the challenge that followed, silently asking the white-haired boy to do his worst. But whatever he was preparing himself for, the explanation that followed wasn't it, and it sent too big of a shock to his system to even try to hide his surprise.

"That's not—" he began, but the sentence died away before he could finish it. What could you even say to something like that...? The other boy questioned whether he had the ability to believe it, but that wasn't the problem here. In his gut, he didn't want to, and tried to reject what he was being told, but in the end, he couldn't. It had only been two days, but he'd already seen the ways this place could affect people. ... There was no reason it couldn't be taken a step further, and he wasn't petty enough to reject things when he had no basis for it. He grew silent, trying to adjust to this information, but it didn't sight right. Everything about this felt wrong.

"... At what price?" he answered eventually. Pain, death, imprisonment, part of your identity, everything that got left behind. "If you try to make a deal with the devil, you'll only end up betraying everything you believe in." He clenched his fists as he said it. ... It looked like he was right about this place. Even the "good" things were like forms of torture.

Albedo's eyes brightened; his smile widening to show teeth. "At what price? You're reading too much into things. The price is only our continued stay. Our playing their little games--killing their monsters, solving their riddles. To be rats in a maze, only; otherwise, we're left to our own devices."

He had been here for a while. He was confident in the truth of that. But either way, it was meaningless when held to-- This person spoke of devils and betrayal as if he knew anything of it. Albedo's amusement only grew. "And you'll have to define devils for me to understand. I've been here for awhile now, and I'm betraying nothing I believe it for succeeding at life here."

Day 66: Courtyard

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject