Day 55: Courtyard [4th Shift]

[gald_digger]

Talking with friends usually put Anise in a better mood, but the subjects that she, Guy, and Tear covered at lunch were so heavy that Anise couldn't help but feel weighed down afterward. It was hard to think and talk about the terrible things that came about from her lies. She wasn't going to cry, not now, but she felt like she needed a little space.

Fortunately, children were going out to the Courtyard today, and that sounded like a good, wide area where she could get a little alone time. The fresh air could help her mood, too.

When Anise reached the door, however, a blast of cold air rushed in at her, and all she could see outside was a blinding veil of whiteness. For a moment, she simply stared at the sight. She never saw much for snow at Landel's, but here it had already covered everything in just one day!

"You might need this," a soldier said, presenting a black jacket to her. The color and style really didn't suit Anise, but it looked expensive. She slipped it on, and while it wasn't as feminine as she liked her clothes to be, the lining actually had a nice feel to it. On the left breast, she noticed a name embroidered over it. It wasn't her name, but it was still kind of impressive that they personalized these things.

Outside, snow had settled onto every surface, like a big fluffy blanket over the ground. Anise walked along the path for a bit, creating a single set of footprints in the otherwise smooth surface. Once she was a fair distance from the doors, she diverged from the path (which was barely visible to begin with) and walked to the edge of the pond, watching the falling snowflakes disappear into the water.

It was a pretty sight, but it wasn't enough to completely take her mind off of Ion. Before long, Anise found herself wondering if it was snowing where Ion was, too. Maybe he was really far away, though...

[waiting for her boyfriends ♥]

Comments

[godforsaken]

Sync hoped that Anise wouldn't think she'd get away with letting Claude do all the work, but for now he didn't mind drawing his attention to the annoyed blond. If anything, it was so much easier to get him riled up over nothing, which made him a reliable source of fun if he wanted to get a reaction fast. And given what other choices he had it was almost nice to have a bit of variety for these kinds of things.

"Like I care that the military's here," Sync sneered, having a different opinion of the shift in control than most people. "In fact, I think I prefer them. The more miserable people are, the better, right?"

Their captor was bad either way, but at least these people were smart enough to realize that running them all down throughout the entire day would bring better results. And while it likely wouldn't affect people like Anise, who was used to the military breathing down her neck while likely having the same privileges as him, the rest weren't so lucky. Especially if they were forced to eat that pink slop they called 'food'.

[gald_digger]

Anise, who had been relatively silent since Claude joined them, was suddenly vocal again. "You're such a creep! How can you think like that!?" she shot at Sync. While having Claude by her side made her anxious, it also made her a little bolder. There were some tricks that Sync couldn't use when there was someone with her.

... But there could also be tricks he would only use when there was someone with her. She couldn't let her guard down.

She was calmer now, but not any less disgusted by the God-General. It was obvious from Sync's deeds that he got some kind of sick enjoyment out of seeing others suffer, but to admit to it so nonchalantly! Sync really was twisted beyond redemption... something Anise had taken far too long to admit to herself. She truly wanted to believe there was some good in Sync, but the only thing her experiences with him ever proved was that he really was rotten to the core.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

The boy's answer shouldn't have surprised Claude. He had already seen how cruel and heartless he could be, had evem gotten a glimpse of the destruction and bloodshed he was capable of causing when not restricted by the institute. Yet, it still somehow shocked him to hear someone speaking of other people's misery in such a casual way. Not only that, but it was like he wasn't concerned at all about what this could mean for the patients as a group.

He definitely agreed with Anise. There was no doubt that Sync was one of the biggest creeps he'd ever met.

"Just remember that whatever happens to everyone else has an effect on you, too," Claude pointed out with a glare. "Sooner or later it'll catch up with you, Sync."

Somehow he doubted Sync would be terribly amused if he got tear-gassed or was forced to do push-ups for an entire shift. Then again, he was fairly certain Sync was too clever to get caught up in something like that so carelessly. On the other hand, with how unpredictable their new captors were, there was no telling whether there could be worse punishments at night.

[godforsaken]

Sync had to laugh at Anise's retort, wondering how she could be so stupid as to think that everyone thought the same, even him. Though he didn't move closer he might as well have with that sneer, voice lowering as if to make a point. "It's easy once you realize that everyone deserves this one way or another."

And what about Claude? Points might've been made, but he wasn't going to show that the latter had even the slightest bit of sense to his words. If anything, menial punishments were nothing compared to the bigger picture.

"And you think I care?" Sync chuckled, leaning in closer to Claude. "Getting swept up by the tide is just a small price to pay."

Hadn't he been around him long enough to realize that it just didn't work that way? And it never will-not completely-at this point, which was why it was so amusing in the first place. His tone shifted then, straightening himself as he gave a glance up at the sky.

"Who knows. Maybe they'll actually find a way to off me for good. That might be the only thing we're both looking forward to."

[gald_digger]

Everyone deserves this. Anise's eyes narrowed at Sync, and she clenched her teeth to keep herself from taking the bait and yelling at him again. That kind of thing might have been true for people like Sync... and even Anise, who did a lot of things to hurt people. But there were lots of innocent people at Landel's, too! Anise knew that most people had their secrets and their darker sides, but if someone like Ion could be taken prisoner, then anyone could.

And even if the place was packed with people who had something to own up to, who died and made the staff the bosses of the universe!? They didn't have any right to do this to people, no matter who those people were or what they did before.

There was a part of Anise that was still bothered by Sync's casual declaration that he still wanted to die. It disgusted her. How could she spare even a shred of pity for that monster!?

It was Ion, she told herself. She didn't care one bit about Sync; it only bothered her because Ion would find it upsetting. But Anise knew that Sync wouldn't hesitate to kill her or Ion or any of her other friends. She wasn't going to feel bad for him.

"If you want to die that badly, go die by yourself," she spat at him. Trying to get other people to do it for him, or to drag people down with him... that was just stupid!