damned_institute | Day 57: Cafeteria

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Day 57: Cafeteria

Edgar's charming company had raised Anise's spirits enough that not even the Head Doctor's voice could bring them back down. Besides, she was feeling pretty sure that Landel wasn't actually around. To begin with, it wouldn't make sense, and secondly, his announcements sounded suspiciously like ones she'd already heard before. While Anise wasn't very familiar with Earth technology, she'd seen the little devices in the Music Room that could play recordings of people's voices. This had to be something like that.

It wasn't long before Anise was escorted to the Cafeteria, and then to the section where edible food was being served. As she filled her plate with waffles, fruit, and sausages, she looked to the other side of the counter with a look of sympathy. It was hard to enjoy her own meals while knowing what the other patients had to suffer through.

She wasn't about to refuse her meals just out of guilt, though. Anise needed her strength for tonight. There was still a bit of a nervous twist in her stomach whenever she thought about what could happen down in the basement... but she wasn't going to back down. Not after promising her friends they'd go together.

With her tray in hand, Anise seated herself at an empty table in the middle of the room. She preferred to have company while eating, but it looked like she was one of the first patients there, so there was no one to sit with. Maybe if she minded her manners and tried to look her cutest, she'd attract someone handsome! Holding her utensils delicately, she began to cut her waffles into smaller pieces.

[For Battler.]

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Zack wasn't sure if his conversation this morning had accomplished anything, but he wasn't as worked up as he'd been upon first waking, so that was something. He couldn't maintain that level for anger for too long, mainly because it was draining. Zack was the sort of person who found it hard to hold a grudge, although people like Hojo and Landel and Aguilar tested that.

There were others back home who did so, too, but he didn't need to think about that right now. It was years in the past and it wasn't something he thought he could return to, so he wasn't sure it was worth it to waste his thoughts on it.

The promise of food might have been a good mood booster if they weren't still being served the same gruel. He'd thought that maybe that would change with today's continuing act, but apparently they weren't so lucky. With no sign of Cloud, Tifa, or Yuffie so far, Zack decided to just sit on his own for the moment. He was sure that he would be joined by someone eventually, but maybe he could handle the conversation a bit better than he had with Maya.

He took a bite of the food and let out a sigh at the unsatisfying taste. It was a good thing he understood the importance of staying well-fed, since he might not have bothered otherwise.

[For Rose.]

Rose eyed the unpalatable goop in her bowl with a wrinkle of her nose in distaste, thanking whatever gods might be listening that she didn't have to eat it. Hunger was something she was accustomed to, and hers was still at a manageable level at the moment, although she knew she would have to hunt either tonight or the following night. Which was problematic in itself. She would have to talk to one of the Salvatore brothers to find out a solution to this, or at least find out what they did for blood. She didn't exactly relish the thought of pouncing on one of their unsuspecting companions.

Glancing around, she saw no familiar faces at the moment, so she moved instead towards one of the emptier tables, spotting a young man sitting by himself and looking even less thrilled with the meal than she was.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked, her tone polite as she stopped behind one of the empty chairs across from him, hesitating in case he preferred to keep his privacy.

Was it his lucky day today or what? This was the second good-looking woman who had come up to him out of the blue today. Zack hadn't really been in the mood to flirt with Maya and he couldn't really guess how he'd interact with this woman, but he could still appreciate his good fortune.

Maybe this was a sign that he'd be lucky in the coming night as well. He could only hope (and keep his fingers crossed).

"Not at all," he said with a shake of his head after he forced down another bite of the food. After he got a few bites in he got used to the taste, at the least, which meant that he just needed to distract himself from it by conversing with this stranger.

"I'm Zack Fair," he started, as he almost always did in situations like this. His name wasn't one that wasn't going to be recognized in this place, after all. No fan club here. Even if there had been, he wouldn't have hidden who he was. He was pretty sure his hair and his glowing eyes would have given him away anyhow. "It's nice to meet you."

"Rose," she replied with a smile as she sank down in the empty chair across from him, settling herself comfortably and depositing the tray in front of her. The bowl of what was supposed to pass as food remained untouched.

"As much of a pleasure as meeting people here is likely to be," she added with a wry quirk of her lips, her hazel eyes warm and friendly for the moment. "Somehow every new introduction I make feels a little more ironic, if you know what I mean."

She eyed the food he was forcing down with a skeptical look, leaning over with a skeptical look. "Does it taste as bad as it looks?" she asked curiously.

Rose. Well, that was a nice, simple name. Not like some of the other stuff he heard here. Not that he blamed people for having strange names; it was probably normal where they came from. He didn't think that this girl was from Gaia, but she very well could be. There was really no way of knowing and he didn't think asking would be the best way to start the conversation anyway.

When she commented on how he'd said it was nice to meet her, Zack couldn't help pulling a smirk and nodding along. "I know what you mean. I guess I just end up saying it automatically," he admitted. Besides, he usually did enjoy meeting people even if it was in this place. Seeing how he'd been dead before this and therefore incapable of meeting anyone (well, who knew who things worked in the Lifestream; he didn't think you could mingle there, though), he knew he needed to appreciate every new person he met.

Though then Rose was asking about the food and Zack thought it over for a second before replying. "Well, it's not really bad -- just doesn't taste like much of anything. There's no real flavor." If she was asking, that either meant that she was new or she had been refraining from eating. He'd done that for a while, but it could only last so long, and he figured he might save her the trouble of starving. "You're gonna have to eat it eventually, y'know."

She chuckled, propping her elbows on the table and dropping her chin in her hand as she poked the stuff with her spoon. She didn't correct him - that would require too much explaining and it's not like her kind blurted out what they were to anyone. Unless they were the meal themselves, that is.

"I'm just prolonging the inevitable, then," she commented wryly, her lips quirking upwards as she glanced over at him once more. "I showed up yesterday morning and got to eat in town, at least. This... isn't doing much for my appetite. Besides, I'm usually not much of a morning person. Breakfast doesn't normally factor into my diet, so its not much of a loss." It wasn't a lie, exactly.

She glanced at him curiously, her hazel eyes skimming over his face as she wondered about him. "Have you been here long?"

"Oh, so you were led to believe you'd get to eat burgers for the rest of your time here, huh? That's harsh." Zack seemed to be working himself back up to a point where he could easily tease someone, even if they were a stranger. It helped that Rose was being playful in her own way. In the end they were talking about the fact that she was basically starving herself for the moment, though, so it wasn't as lighthearted as it might have seemed at first glance.

He couldn't judge her for holding back. He'd already warned her that she was going to have to give in eventually, but she would probably be able to handle that herself. In the meantime he focused on getting his own food down. They still got three portions a day, at least, but eating this pink oatmeal stuff that often was really more depressing than anything else.

The typical question of how long he'd been here came up soon enough, and Zack shrugged his shoulders as he thought back. "It's hard to keep track, but I think it's almost two weeks now." That was a decent amount of time, but certainly not as long as some others.

"Cruelest thing about this damned place so far," Rose laughed, adopting a mournful expression as she shook her head. "I think most people's first order of business after dark would be raiding the kitchens. I bet you they're not eating this crap," she added with a tilt of her head towards the nearest 'nurse'. She wondered where the staff went after dark. Maybe they'd make a useful meal if she could locate them? Or did they join the twisted predators in the halls and rooms as well?

Rose's eyes widened as she studied him with more interest now. "Two weeks? Really? I'd say congratulations, but... Is it always like this? I mean, day after day? I got that I started on an odd day with the trip to town, but I'm still sorting through what to expect."

And as he took another bite of the gruel, she stifled a wince of sympathy. She'd never been more glad she wasn't human.

The idea of people leaving their rooms and heading for the kitchens was a pretty amusing one, and Zack allowed a smirk to touch at his lips as he indulged the mental image. Granted, he'd never seen anyone actually doing that, but he wouldn't be surprised if there were a few people who were that determined to eat well. He personally wouldn't trust the state that the food was in at night, but that was just him.

"Yeaaah, probably not," he said with a glance to the so-called nurses. A soldier's posture stuffed into an outfit like that was pretty laughable. Zack still could hardly believe that the military had followed him even to this world.

"There's not too much to congratulate for except for... 'hey, you've gone two weeks without dying'!" He grinned and shook his head in dismay. It wasn't all that funny when he considered his own situation, but that was definitely going to remain a secret. He'd already told too many people, even if the number was still very small.

"But yeah, this is how it goes most days," he explained with a glance around the cafeteria. "We'll actually get a chance to choose which room we want to go to after this, so you'll be able to get a look around." He had to figure out where he wanted to go, though chances were he'd end up outside at some point despite the cold weather.

Rose couldn't help but snicker at the expression that crossed his face as he glanced toward their guards, and she shared his opinion entirely. Although considering the expression on the one guard's face, he looked less than thrilled at being dressed up in the nurse's uniform.

"From what I've heard about what lurks around here after dark, two weeks sounds pretty impressive," she commented wryly, leaning back in her chair. "Are the things that wander deadly? I mean, has there been word of any of us actually dying during the night?"

When he glanced about the cafeteria, she found herself doing the same, her fingers tapping absently against the inside of her arm as she pondered that. "How generous of them. Do they let us outside at all?" she asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice. Being out in daylight was still mesmerizing for her. Even if she should get more acquainted with her surroundings. But hey, outside should be familiarized, too, right?

She posed a good question. It wasn't the sort of thing that Zack wanted to think about, but he knew that death had to be a possibility here. With the things that were lurking out there, it wouldn't make sense for people to always make it out alive -- unless their captors wanted it to be that way. That was always a possibility, seeing how they'd gone so far as to bring some people back from the dead just to put them here.

"You know... I'm not really sure," he admitted. "If it's happened, then I've never seen it myself. You might be better off asking about something like that on the bulletin board. It's in the Sun Room, if you haven't used it yet." Seeing how she'd spent her first day in the town, it was possible no one had told Rose about it so far. In that case, at least he was making himself useful.

More than that, he could actually give her some good news, which was a rare occurrence in this place. He sent her a bright grin in response to her next question. "Yeah, they do! There's a courtyard -- it's through those doors over there, actually," he explained, pointing out the ones positioned at both sides of the cafeteria. "And there's also a recreational field where you can get some exercise if you want. Just ask one of the soldiers later on and they'll show you where to go." Unless they were going to be more strict, but Zack was hoping that wouldn't be the case. He'd feel pretty bad if he ended up giving Rose false hope.

At the mention of the bulletin board, she tilted her head to the side, her interest piqued. "I'd heard there was one, just not where. Thanks, I'll look for that," Rose replied with a smile. "Everyone uses it, I take it? And our watchdogs let us get away with it?" That was the real question, she supposed. She doubted it went unmonitored. A dangerous place to make plans, then.

When he grinned at her, she couldn't help but return it, the smile tugging at her lips when his words were the best thing she'd heard yet. She'd hoped that being outside in town wasn't as rare an occasion as eating real food. Now that she could be in sunlight once more, she wanted to enjoy it. "That's wonderful," she grinned, her eyes lighting up in anticipation. "I could use some more fresh air today. I hate staying cooped up inside all the time." Or rather, she'd had far too much of it. It was ironic to think that this prison had given her more freedom in a way than she'd had in centuries.

"Thank you," she added a second later, her manners coming back after the rush of excitement. She smiled at him, a hint of shyness in the tilt of her lips as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I haven't had much luck in finding too many friendly faces around here yet. I really appreciate the information."

So she hadn't known where it was. Bonus points for him for being a helpful citizen, then. "Yeah, it's monitored. I don't think the soldiers care as much as the nurses did, but I'd still say that you should be careful with how specific you are. Try to use codes if you can." They didn't even have to be very sophisticated codes. A lot of stuff about dreaming was easily passed over, so...

Zack was taken aback by just how excited Rose seemed to be about getting to go outside. He realized how much it meant to some people, though. He was a fan of the outdoors himself, so he could relate at least somewhat. "Yeah. I can't promise that you'll get to go out every day, but a few times a week, at least. And there's always night, of course." It wasn't quite as fun to go out when it was freezing cold and there was the threat of a monster around every corner, though.

Her words of thanks were appreciated, and he nodded and returned her smile. It was surprising to hear that she hadn't found many friendly people in this place, since in Zack's experience they were pretty common. "Oh, well, feel free to come find me if you ever need anything," he said as he motioned with his thumb at his chest. "I may not know everything, but I'll help you out as best I can."

"Codes," she echoed, looking amused by this advice. "I'll remember that. And I'll have to be sure to check it out at some point today. That sounds helpful."

Rose leaned back in her chair once more, fingers idly playing against the surface of the table as she smiled wryly at him. "Night, too. I haven't had a chance to explore much at night yet. I got waylaid last night by a friend. I take it there's more creepies that wander outside after dark, as well? Are they more dangerous than the ones inside?"

Her smile warmed at his words and she inclined her head in appreciation. "Thank you for that. And you've been really helpful. I know a little more than I did before, at any rate. Which is always a good thing in this place, I suspect."

It seemed that even though Rose hadn't seen much at night, she wasn't all that perturbed by the idea of monsters existing. That meant that she was probably from a world where it was the norm -- or at least where they were considered real. It was something to keep in mind.

Unfortunately, he didn't know quite as much about what it was like outside during the night for a number of reasons. He couldn't get anywhere half the time and when he had, it had usually been within the building. Maybe he would need to change that this time around. "I'm not really sure," he admitted. "I haven't explored outside too much at night, but my guess is that there's some pretty nasty stuff hiding around out there." It was a bigger, more expansive space, so that probably meant that the monsters out there came in bigger sizes too.

"Anyway, it can be really hard to get around at night, so it's usually best to stick with someone." He was going to defy that advice tonight, but Rose didn't need to know that. Zack didn't want anyone trying to talk him out of it, mainly because his mind was already made up. "You're right, though. Knowledge is power in this place." It was one of the only things that they had.

That was easier said than done, especially when going with someone else - unless they knew her secret - would severely handicap what she could do. Still, she gave him a crooked smile and nodded her head in understanding.

"I'll make a note of that," she replied, tapping a nail against the tabletop in absentminded habit. "Hopefully I'll manage to get some more soon. And after everything... well. Thank you for the information you've given me. It's plenty to think over, that's for certain. And good luck tonight. With wherever you end up wandering," she added with a chuckle, inclining her head as she pushed back from the table. It looked as if some people were starting to filter out now that it was nearing the end of lunch. She hoped they'd let her go outside...

While Rose was thankful, she didn't ask if she could tag along with him tonight, which was probably good. Zack normally would have been more than happy to show her around, but the newer patients also tended to slow things down, so it was probably better this way. He'd told her to not go anywhere alone, so with any luck she'd listen to him about that.

"Really, it's no skin off my back to help you out with a few things," he pointed out as he also stood from the table. The idea of people hoarding information seemed ridiculous to Zack, since they weren't going to get anywhere in this place unless they all cooperated with each other. "Good luck to you too. I'll see you around." And with that, he was collected by one of the soldiers in disguise so that he could move onto the next part of the day.

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Day 57: Cafeteria

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