Anise Tatlin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gald_digger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_institute2011-07-14 01:39 am
gald_digger) wrote in damned_institute2011-07-14 01:39 am
Night 57: F11-20 Hallway
Well, that was different. Anise had expected the military's announcement to be brief and to-the-point, but what actually came was a full-on rant. It looked like even Aguilar had a nutty side, too. Both him and Landel kept acting like they were doing everyone a favor with all their twisted plots. Who did they think they were fooling? They were both despicable as far as Anise was concerned.
It looked like the military was offering a new way to get weapons, though. But testing drugs in a place like this? That had to be seriously risky. Anise was glad that most of her friends were already armed, so she didn't have to worry about them being reckless and actually trying something like that.
In any case, it was time for Anise to go, and she needed to get an early start so she could deliver her gift bags. One such bag, a little drawstring bag with a white and blue floral design on it, was left on her desk with a small note reading 'Edgar'. She hoped he'd come and take it, as it was hard to tell whether he really intended to or not. The guy really looked like he could use a little help.
Next up were Tear and Ilia, who were fortunately in the same hallway as Anise. With her nightshift gear and the last two gift bags in hand, Anise gave Utena a quick goodbye before hurrying out of her room. The orange and yellow bag was left on Ilia's door handle, and then the pink and brown one was left on Tear's. Each bag contained granola bars (three for Edgar and Tear, two for Ilia), as well as gummy bears, fruit gummies, and chocolates - all separated by type, wrapped in colorful tissue paper, and tied with thread. All of them also contained a small to-and-from note with a few hearts doodled on the paper, just to make it look more cheerful.
There! She hoped that would help cheer her friends up, and maybe improve their health a little too.
Now that she was done with that, it was off to meet Claude and Guy! Anise quickly double-checked to make sure she had everything she needed - jacket, mallet, binoculars, Tokunaga, flashlight - then started to make her way towards the block exit.
[to here]
It looked like the military was offering a new way to get weapons, though. But testing drugs in a place like this? That had to be seriously risky. Anise was glad that most of her friends were already armed, so she didn't have to worry about them being reckless and actually trying something like that.
In any case, it was time for Anise to go, and she needed to get an early start so she could deliver her gift bags. One such bag, a little drawstring bag with a white and blue floral design on it, was left on her desk with a small note reading 'Edgar'. She hoped he'd come and take it, as it was hard to tell whether he really intended to or not. The guy really looked like he could use a little help.
Next up were Tear and Ilia, who were fortunately in the same hallway as Anise. With her nightshift gear and the last two gift bags in hand, Anise gave Utena a quick goodbye before hurrying out of her room. The orange and yellow bag was left on Ilia's door handle, and then the pink and brown one was left on Tear's. Each bag contained granola bars (three for Edgar and Tear, two for Ilia), as well as gummy bears, fruit gummies, and chocolates - all separated by type, wrapped in colorful tissue paper, and tied with thread. All of them also contained a small to-and-from note with a few hearts doodled on the paper, just to make it look more cheerful.
There! She hoped that would help cheer her friends up, and maybe improve their health a little too.
Now that she was done with that, it was off to meet Claude and Guy! Anise quickly double-checked to make sure she had everything she needed - jacket, mallet, binoculars, Tokunaga, flashlight - then started to make her way towards the block exit.
[to here]
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Rose left rather peacefully, despite Lily's anxious looks. It didn't seem that she was being taken to perform the sort of tasks Japan had been assigned the night before, so the most that Lily could do was hope that she'd be safe. She understood that once the door closed behind Rose, she wouldn't see the girl until the following morning.
Please be safe, she thought, briefly closing her eyes.
You are not animals, the intercom said. You act accordingly for your own reasons.
Lies. She bit her lip and rubbed her neck, tried to examine the chain but found that it was too short to bring into her field of vision. It made her angry, that someone would say those things, but she held herself away from her anger the way a person would hold their hand away from an open flame.
If she could have anything, what would she wish? She wanted her friends to be here, to see the snow and the grass and the sky. She wanted to never be afraid of hurting anyone. Lily would do anything for that, but it wasn't what the man was offering. A weapon? Why, so she could attack innocent people when the switch flipped in her brain? Pins, to grant her better food? Institutional food was all she'd ever known, and it served her well enough.
After a long period of consideration, Lily pressed the flower petals between the pages of her journal, stood up, and left the room. She didn't plan to 'try the system to her advantage,' as the General suggested. No. Lily simply planned to see the snow.
[to here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133190.html?thread=78960774#t78960774)]
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She hadn't even argued with them. She'd just let Ilia decide, and leave, and now all she could do was wait and see if the other woman came back in one piece.
Aguilar didn't let her ruminate on that for long, though; the intercom switched on, and off, and on again.
Bribery and blackmail in the same offer, hmm? Aguilar must be getting a little desperate. A time limit, perhaps? Or ego, the driving need to prove himself better than that man.
Either way, there was only one currency that meant anything to Lana, and that hadn't been mentioned. She was smart enough not to go racing off to the medical wing in some misguided scientific enthusiasm.
Lana hoped. Well, it wasn't like she wasn't planning to head over there already.
She hurried through her preparations, tucking things into her coat pockets, grabbing radio, flashlight, and candlestick, all in an eeriely quiet room.
[to here]
F14
He sure is long-winded.
That was Utena's first thought upon the completion of the broadcast. She had completely finished changing by the time he was finished talking, and that was saying something. In addition to the address just being long, however, Utena did get some useful information. Namely, an explanation of pins, and a new method for getting both them and weaponry. Not that she needed any weapons, but she supposed that sort of thing would be useful for other patients. So long as the drugs didn't kill anyone first, anyway.
They'd better not. If I hear anything about that on the bulletin in the morning... Utena grit her teeth, taking her sword firmly in hand.
Anise left first, but before she did, the other girl had left something on her desk — one of her little drawstring candy bags. To Utena's surprise, it was apparently addressed to Edgar. Small world, she thought. She would have to ask Anise about that over dinner next time. Maybe the girl would be able to tell her more about what kind of person the man was. Mealtimes in Landel's often didn't give one a full sense of a person, especially not on a first meeting.
In any case, she had a place to be and a girl to meet. With her flashlight at full power and the radio clipped to her jacket pocket, she set out.
[To here]
In and out of rooms in this hall
Utena started in her own hallway, just to keep things simple. Who knew? Maybe she and Renamon were neighbours. Maybe Renamon even had her old room. And so, Utena started opening doors and poking her head into them, the same as she had the night before looking for Himemiya. "Helloooo? Renamon?" she called quietly into one. "You in there?" she called into another.
[Unknowingly waiting for Soma]
Re: In and out of rooms in this hall
Soma glanced around the connecting hall as she passed through it again: still no sign of anyone who matched Tsubaki's description. That was...worrying, to say the least. Surely they couldn't have both been taken for experimentation. That was just too improbable to be true. But what were the alternatives? That they had both been released? That they had arrived earlier and left without Soma? Neither seemed likely.
There was a girl with pink hair here who was also going from door to door. Soma hesitated for only a moment before approaching; there was a chance she might have seen Rapunzel or Tsubaki, and given the number of people she'd passed in the hall, there was a chance Soma might have seen whoever this girl was looking for, too.
"Excuse me," she said, "but have you seen two girls pass by here? One's about my height, with blonde hair down to the floor at least, and one's quite tall, with dark hair in a ponytail."
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And it was at that moment Utena found herself being addressed. "Eh?" Utena blinked, turning to face the unfamiliar girl. Sounded like she was looking for someone too. "Not so far, sorry. And I was watching out there for a while," she answered, nodding toward the F-A hall. "You haven't found them in any of the rooms yet?"
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"I can help you look for them if you want? The girl I was gonna meet out here is resting tonight, looks like."
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She looked a little surprised at the offer, but after a moment she inclined her head in a nod and offered a faint smile. "I'd appreciate that. It might be easier to cover the rest of the F-block with two people. I'm Soma Peries, by the way. What's your name?"
Hope the handwaving is okay
"Tenjou Utena," she answered with a determined smile of her own. "Good to meet you, Soma."
The two searched the whole of the block for a while, the way Utena had for Himemiya that first night back. To their disappointment, however, they found no trace of either of Soma's companions.
[Back to here]
M14
With the book in arm, Claude traveled a couple of hallways down, keeping an eye out for any potential danger in the area. Thankfully, the women's block was as quiet as it was when he first arrived. Still, that was no reason to let his guard down. While he looked for Anise's room, he moved quickly and quietly.
It didn't take long to locate F14. Since Anise hadn't said anything about her roommate, Claude assumed it was empty. Since there wasn't anyone to disturb, he reached out and opened the door.
All that was left now was to leave the book in Anise's room for safekeeping. Gazing around, he couldn't help but notice the feminine decorations on one side of the room. With a small smile, he realized it fit into Anise's affinity for cute things. That must have been her side of the room.
If that was the case, then the journal would likely be okay on her desk. He neatly set the book on the table's surface. As much as he would have liked to hold onto it, there was no telling what would happen if he took it into the basement with him. The last thing he wanted was to see Leon's writings become damaged.
Hopefully he'd be able to pick it back up within the next day or so. For now, Claude didn't want to spare the extra time necessary to drop it off back in his own room.
With everything taken care of, Claude turned and stepped out into the hallway again.
((To here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133190.html?thread=78893958#t78893958).))
F20
The broadcast answered a few of her questions. But who was to say he was telling the truth? Sonia didn't think he was lying about why certain prisoners got privileges, though. From the moment she'd got here, they'd treated her like dirt. And according to Renamon, that wasn't the only thing that had changed since Aguilar had taken over. Dungeon gruel seemed to be the only item on the menu for new arrivals like herself.
Aguilar's broadcast was littered with threats, and he clearly had something against the way Landel had run this place before. It did sound like Landel had treated them badly, but she didn't have enough information to go on.
Did he really expect them to believe that stuff about the "Medical Wing"? Sonia didn't buy it. Aguilar was making it sound like a test, but if he wanted to show them a sign of good will, there were better ways to go about it. He could let them out of this prison; better yet, he could send some of them home! But instead, he was offering them an untested "concoction" that could be full of poison or something, assuming that he wasn't lying about there being any. It had to be a trap! And this guy didn't strike her as the giving type; if he actually did mean what he said about rewarding them, there was sure to be a catch. She'd bet that "concoction" did more than leave a bad taste in your mouth. He was subtle, but compared to Buttnik, that wasn't saying much.
She had to go and check it out! Aguilar thought that no one would escape on his watch; prisoners who felt the same way might take the risk. If she was right, those people could be in big trouble! Finding out what was on the other side of the wall would have to wait. Right now she had to find out the location of the Medical Wing! She'd have to try to find someone who could tell her.
She shot a concerned look back at Mokona before heading out.
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She had learned one new thing about the soldier, though – through a sneaky, well-timed peek at his dog tags, she now knew his name! She had even used it a few times, and though he never responded to it, he hadn’t told her to stop, which made her very happy! It was almost as fun as the grumpy faces he made when she tried to hold his hand, or jump on him.
The little creature also remembered being eager as ever to eat the food that was left with her – it may not have been the best thing she had ever had for dinner, but despite what everyone else said, she thought it tasted fine! Still, a little more of it wouldn’t have hurt, especially after such a long day...it felt like the moment she started eating it, it was gone!
It must have been right after she finished that she cuddled up to her pillow – though she didn’t recall the action so much as the thought that a nap would be nice...
When she next opened her eyes, it was completely dark – she had slept through any announcement from the intercom, and Sonia had long since come and gone. She could sense people moving around the halls, and from the way the different energies felt as they hummed together, they’d been doing so for quite a while.
Mokona finally sat up and yawned powerfully, stretching her tiny limbs and wiping the last bit of sleep from her eyes. She tumbled out of bed and blinked carefully into the darkness, her white hair and uniform noticeably ruffled. A little chirp of accomplishment left her as she effortlessly located her flashlight for the second night in a row – and as soon as she had turned it on, she was out the door, her focus trained on that soft, familiar glow of magic...one she always searched for the instant the lights went out.
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F14
Edgar stopped at the seventh door. "This should be it." After a quick knock to make sure both Anise and her roommate had vacated the room, he gave the knob a try. It opened easily, revealing the ladies' living quarters.
On one desk was a blue and white bag— he smirked, noting the appropriate colors— and an accompanying note bearing his name. With a look to Locke and a nod toward the gift, he headed for the desk. He set his shovel and light aside for the moment, taking the note between two fingers and eying the handwriting carefully. He then examined the contents of the bag: various candies and delicacies, all carefully decorated, as well as the promised granola bars. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scents from the bag, the smell of the treats enticing even with his churning stomach.
"She's entirely too kind," Edgar remarked, showing the contents of the gift to Locke before folding the bag and pushing it into his jacket pocket. He found his pen in the other, and turning the note with his name to the blank side, he wrote in an elegant cursive: 'Your generosity is beyond measure. You have my thanks.'
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"Candies? What kind of relationship do you have with this woman?" A little bit of teasing could only help at this point, besides, it was mostly rhetorical.
"Where to next?"
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[To here.]
F18
But they weren't going to, so she had no reason to think on it further. There was no sense in disrupting the necessary balance of natural selection either. Nothing wrong with a little pig culling; everyone species needed it now and again.
Grabbing her journal and flashlight, Asuka inspected her map briefly and routed her destination in her mind before picking out her arms: A crappy red jersey and a baseball bat. How low she had sunk these last few weeks, sheesh!
The journal was left on her bed as the redhead had already memorized the map. She couldn't be distracted from holding onto the thing if a monster came upon her. With the flashlight on, the eva pilot crept out of her room and down the hall in search of wonder boy's butt buddy.
Re: F18