Night 67: Main Hallway, 1-West

[ofthemotions]

[from here --and waiting for Ryusei!]

There still wasn't a lot of people in the halls, and it was starting to make him nervous. Maybe he should try to find someone to hang out with tonight. Snow and Celty had insisted on how Mikado shouldn't be alone at night--it wouldn't hurt to take their advice. But it would be strange to just go up to someone and ask to walk around with them.

...Wouldn't it?

He made a face, and paused in the hall, looking around. He was more aware of the bandages covering his eye in the dim, and even wearing his own clothes didn't negate that uncomfortability. He was suddenly starting to think he should have just stayed inside.

Comments

[freewill]

[From here.]

As Castiel slowly made his way into the main hallway, he heard a voice and squinted through the darkness (his flashlight was in his coat pocket, and his vision wasn't as good as it should have been) to see a pair of patients. One of them was a boy he'd spoken to briefly, but since it had been the first day after his surgery, the conversation hadn't really gone anywhere.

In other words, this wasn't any of his concern. Instead of continuing on down the hall, though, Castiel realized that he had to take a break. His arms were burning with pain from using the crutches, and he doubted he'd be able to go further without resting first. He sighed and moved the crutches into one hand so that he could lean himself against the wall.

He just needed a few seconds to catch his breath and let his arms relax, and then he'd keep going.

[For Lust!]

[a_sin_for_him]

[from here]

Still, it seemed an eternity from one corridor to another. Her boots sounded too loud in her ears, ringing against the floor. But here was the main line of halls! Now which way? A silly thing to question, as she came the same way every night, but sense of direction went to madness in the dark...

Left, it should be. Lust paused, finger at her lips, peering up the hallway to confirm for herself that it was the way to the main part of the Institute. She was aware of other presences in the hallway, but for the moment ignored them.

"Of course it's left," she snapped quietly, irritated for allowing herself that moment of doubt. Perhaps striking out on her own hadn't been the wisest of ideas....

[freewill]

Just as Castiel had reached a point where he thought that he could put his crutches back into place and keep moving, he heard a familiar voice and watched as another patient drew closer.

The one named after a sin, an attempt to replicate humanity, and here she was wandering alone. That didn't surprise him much. For someone like Lust, chances were she would always feel like she was at least slightly ostracized from the rest of the people here. Castiel felt that way too, though for different reasons.

He didn't know what she was talking about (could she really be lost this close to the rooms?), but seeing how both of them had struck out on their own tonight, it might be a good idea to pool their efforts. It was true that he'd treated her with suspicion when they'd first met, but he'd worked past all of that already.

"Where are you headed?" He called out to her from his place against the wall as he shifted the crutches around. Maybe she already had plans, or maybe she had no interest in searching for those flowers. But there was only one way to determine that.

[a_sin_for_him]

No, not lost, only distracted and foolish, as she tended to be when certain stakes were on the line. Lust turned at the voice, recognizing the man. The interesting man who wasn't quite human. And he looked as though he were already having a bad night.

"Wherever you find flowers." Her plan, she decided, was more important than her destination. And answered both questions quite simply. "What happened? I don't imagine you've got those to use as weapons." She lifted an eyebrow at his crutches.

[freewill]

What a strange coincidence. On the other hand, Castiel imagined that plenty of people were searching out the flowers tonight, so he could chalk it up to being in the right place at the right time.

Before he answered her question, Castiel fitted the crutches under his arms again and then hobbled forward so that he was closer to Lust, a silent way of inviting himself into her company. He would be better off with someone at his side who could actually fight in case he ran afoul of something. Relying on someone else wasn't the norm for him, so asking outright didn't strike him as an option.

"I went through the harsher cure, a few nights ago. Someone cut me open -- with my permission, that is." He glanced down at his stomach, which was wrapped tight with bandages, hidden by his loose shirt. "I've decided to search out the St. John's Wort despite that, though. Those who are sick might not be capable of finding it themselves."

[a_sin_for_him]

"So it does work...." Lust pursed her lips and glared into the darkness of the hallway. Perhaps she should have simple done as he'd asked, that first night he'd asked. But done was done and couldn't be undone, there was no sense in worrying. But there was no sense in most human emotions, when it came down to it. They were senseless, irrational things.

"Well, come along then," she went on, her gaze softening as she returned it to Castiel and his crutches. She'd found a companion after all, precisely as she'd said she would. And despite the hinderance of crutches, he was a familiar face and someone she fancied could possibly understand her.

"Call out if I begin to leave you behind without realizing."

With that, she began to set out down the hallway, slowly, trying to ascertain Castiel's pace.

[freewill]

Castiel thought that Kratos had made an effort to inform the rest of the patients that surgery was a viable, if dangerous, option. Apparently Lust hadn't seen those notes for herself, and while it certainly made him curious, he suspected that she wasn't searching for a cure for herself. He remembered how much of a toll those symptoms had taken (were still taking, in fact), and he couldn't see any of that on her face.

But just like that, she had invited him along. No discussion had been necessary, and Castiel preferred it that way. Maybe because neither of them had any need for human manners or customs, it was easier to cut to the chase.

"I will," he said after a pause, and before long he'd gotten into a rhythm with the crutches in order to follow her. It was going to be slow-going, but Lust was going to have to accept that.

"We need to keep on straight down this hall," he offered, because she'd seemed uncertain of where she was going earlier.

[a_sin_for_him]

Lust glanced over her shoulder with a small sigh. Mostly for herself.

"I know. I'm afraid my attention drifts when my mind's distracted." Which it was so very often lately. Too often, and by far too many different subjects. Most of them men, terribly different men and for terribly different reasons. This whole mad venture tonight...

Again, she found herself threatened with becoming lost in her own thoughts. It was maddening, the way a simple thought could call forth such strong emotions. But she set it aside as best she could, keeping her pace slow and easy for Castiel to keep up with. She didn't mind - they were certainly less likely to be taken by surprise, this way. Better than to be rushing, spurred on by emotion and ignoring obvious signs of danger...

"Is there anyone in particular you're looking to cure?"

[freewill]

Castiel could relate to Lust's problem. It seemed that ever since waking up here, his mind was more prone to distraction. His thoughts and concerns would take him in a completely different direction than the one intended, and he was one who despised losing his focus.

Unfortunately, the entire experience of being here was more or less one large example of that, and there was little he could do about it.

Lust managed to walk slowly for his benefit, and Castiel did a decent job of keeping up as he followed her down the hall. Her question wasn't a surprising one, but he made sure to pull up next to her before he answered.

[To here.]