Night 69: Main Hallway, 1-West

[his_legacy]

[From here]

Just as last night, Link stood and waited along the wall of the main hallway. Nobody else was out, yet. Good. He had made good time. One never truly knew, here.

He didn't expect to wait long. They all seemed to be very competent people, perhaps with the slight exception of the Once-ler. Though Link could not complain. He had been a bumbling fool the first time he had faced a true monster.

[The Green Team!]

Comments

[gald_digger]

[from here]

It didn't take long to reach the main hallway. There were already several other people loitering around. That was a good thing - it made it safer for Anise to hang around alone while she waited for her friends to show up. It was also encouraging to see lots of other patients out and about in the first place. Their numbers weren't what they used to be.

And hey, Tsurugi was around! Anise flashed him a quick, friendly wave before going back to watching the doorway her friends were going to come through. He looked like he was occupied, so it was probably best that they let each other get on with their own plans. Maybe they could share stories later! ... If Anise could even say anything in the first place. That weird mental block made any talk about the Coliseum impossible. She wasn't so sure about everything after it.

[For Guy and Claude.]

[nobleman]

[From here.]

As they stepped into the main hall, Guy caught sight of a few familiar patients. First was Edgar, who was with a rather large group (did they plan to head down to the basement?) and then also Aidou, who Guy had only spoken to a couple of times but who stood out because he'd been here for so long.

Though in the end, the person he was really looking for was Anise, and so Guy headed toward her, sending her a sheepish smile when he knew he was close enough for her to see it. "Sorry for the wait," he said. He considered mentioning what had delayed them, but in the end that was up to Claude to explain. Guy didn't want to overstep.

[earthling]

In truth, Claude didn't think there was much point in over-explaining what happened. He wasn't even sure if Anise knew Lloyd, and all it would have done was bring her down too.

"I needed to talk to someone for my roommate, but that's done now," Claude said instead, offering a small, apologetic smile. "Ready for another go?"

He needed to stay focused, and that was what he intended to make himself do for now. As much as he hated it, this was the only way he could help anyone tonight.

[gald_digger]

Time began to stretch on, and Anise was starting to get worried. Claude had slept through the previous night… Did something like that happen again? Maybe she ought to go check on the others…

But just as Anise thought of that, she saw her friends emerge from the doorway, and inwardly sighed with relief. They came with apologies, so she couldn’t really get mad at them. She wondered briefly if there might be more to Claude’s story, but if he wasn’t elaborating, it was either because it wasn’t important, or because it was a long story that would take too much time away from their mission.

It was probably best to stick to their plan. Anise nodded, retrieving her bone bracelet and raising it to show the others. “Ready! Should we do it on three?” Maybe she’d let someone else count this time.

[nobleman]

Surprisingly, Claude didn't say much about Lloyd. Guy wondered if that was fair, but chances were that Anise didn't even know Lloyd and it would only set her off balance for the rest of the night if she heard the news. If he and Claude were already going to be distracted by the knowledge that a friend was in trouble, then maybe it was for the best to spare Anise, at least.

So he didn't say anything in response to that, grabbing for his bracelet instead. It looked like all three of them had remembered to bring them along even though it'd been a few nights since they'd done this. While Guy wasn't exactly looking forward to going to the caverns, he had to admit he was relieved. The three of them being here, ready to do this, meant that they were all healthy.

"Sure," Guy agreed, figuring he might as well count. "One... two... three!" And with that, he quickly drew the bracelet over his hand and let it settle on his wrist.

[To here.]