damned_institute | Day 58: Cafeteria

Anise woke up feeling lucky to be alive. She still felt a bit waterlogged, even though her skin, hair, and clothes were completely dry. During last night's adventures, she'd swallowed a lot of water, and it still felt heavy and disgusting in her stomach. Her arms and legs were tired from treading water. Lying still in her bed, she still kind of felt like she was floating and bobbing in the water.

But she was alive.

Knowing how close she came to death last night, and remembering the lengths her friends had gone to in order to save her, there was no way Anise could let a little discomfort get her down. She had to be at her best today so she wouldn't seem ungrateful to Guy and Claude. On that note, she had to remember to thank them properly, now that she was better able to express herself.

While getting ready, Anise was surprised to actually run into Claude that morning. He came to her room asking for the notebook he stored there (or maybe it was an excuse to see her cute face again), so Anise happily located it and handed it over. She was pretty tired, but the big smile she gave him was genuine. Who wouldn't be happy to see her savior so soon after a dramatic rescue?

After he left, Anise finished re-tying her pigtails into a low position so the military beret would fit on her head, and then she was ready! Even though her stomach wasn't feeling that great, she figured sitting down to a decent meal would help normalize it. And luckily for her, she was among the few who had the privilege of eating such a meal. Anise filled a plate with french toast topped with syrup and fruit, accompanied by small portions of each of the available side dishes.

It looked like she was early, which meant there weren't a lot of people around. That was okay, though. Anise could get a good head start on her meal before any company came around. She sat down at a table by herself and started on her sausage first.

[for Tolten!]

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It was really easy to get a big reaction out of Tolten, wasn't it? He'd make a good teasing target... but right now, it'd just be mean to try it while he looked so uncomfortable. It sounded like he might have witnessed (or experienced?) human experiments before, or something. Anise had seen some horrible stuff herself, so she couldn't blame the guy for his reaction.

His next question brought a small look of surprise to the girl's face, and her smile faded soon after. Anise was able to keep her chin up about most things that went on at the institute, but this was something that really got under her skin.

"I got one too," she said, her voice quiet. "That's... something else they do here. They brainwash people into thinking they're someone that they're not... and then those people try to convince us that we aren't who we think we are, either."

Anise stared down at her plate, realizing now that she'd forgotten her food while getting caught up in her conversation. But now that she remembered breakfast, she didn't feel much like eating it anymore. Just thinking about what those bastards did to her parents, making them forget who they were, who their own daughter was...! Anyone would lose their appetite from that.

"But...how do they know? How to make it look and sound like...like someone I know?" Tolten didn't understand. He supposed it wasn't entirely out of the question that Gongora was somehow actually involved in this. Highly unlikely, and he imagined it would take an extremely intricate and improbable series of events, but strange things did happen. And this was the sort of thing Tolten imagined his guardian would have an interest in.

"And why do they wish to change our minds to such an extent? Though...no, he couldn't be involved, else we'd all be nice and mind-wiped now, believing whatever he wanted...." At least there was that. Gongora did not leave much leeway when it came to rearranging someone's memories. Tolten shook his head. "Sorry, I wandered off into wool gathering for a moment. And to what end is all of this done? For the military?"

Well, his own army had its own special mind-addled forces.

"I... don't really know," Anise replied honestly. That worked as an answer to pretty much all of Tolten's questions, but she was going to try to explain as much as she could. "The people who wrote those letters, and the people who come visit us once a week... I heard that they used to be patients, and they got released once the institute managed to brainwash them completely." She couldn't say for sure if that was the case for everyone, but it had happened enough times that it was common, at least.

She cocked her head questioningly when Tolten began to ramble about someone. Did he know someone capable of doing the kinds of things that happened at the institute? It was kind of scary to think there were others with that kind of power out there...

"No one really knows what the military's goal is. Some people guessed they might be trying to make people into super soldiers... but it's pretty hard to say for sure." That theory had sounded pretty stupid the first time Anise heard it, but now that they were all being marched around like soldiers and treated like new cadets... Well, it sure seemed a lot less stupid now.

"Patients here? You mean...like us?"

Tolten wet his lips, worried suddenly. That couldn't be true, could it? No one could do that to Gongora. To think that the institute could be even more powerful than the great mage was unthinkable! And they visited? This...fake Gongora was going to show up to see him at some point? Claiming to be his uncle?

Madness!

"I wouldn't be surprised if this was a military operation," he said, finally. "I've seen stranger ruses for secret military training. And I have known warlords who abducted and duped their minions. Though not to so great an extent as this...."

Anise nodded to confirm that Tolten had the idea, though it was clear that it didn't sit well with him. There weren't a lot of people who could hear those kinds of facts without being disturbed by them, though.

"I guess..." she murmured in response to Tolten's thoughts. "It's a pretty weird group of people to kidnap if they want soldiers, though..." They'd taken Ion, after all, and he sure as heck wasn't soldier material. Though maybe they just wanted to study his abilities... - Ugh, thinking about them doing anything to him just made her mad!

The intercom sounded then, and the enthusiastic voice Anise recognized from that morning began to announce the shift change. The girl looked down at her plate, full of delicious food that she'd only barely picked at. It was probably all cold by now.

"Looks like we have to go now," she said, frowning. When she continued, her voice was a little more upbeat, though. "But I'll see you tonight when I bring that pipe over!"

"I've long stopped trying to make sense of the minds of madmen," Tolten said, Not that he knew whether or not the men involved in this place were madmen, but he figured it stood to reason.

At least there was organization. The young king was thankful for a set routine and obvious authority figures - it kept it easier to keep himself out of trouble. And it was always good to know precisely who the enemy was, rather than be taken by surprise. And the announcements were helpful...

"Tonight, my lady," Tolten agreed with another deep inclination of his head. "I truly cannot thank you enough. Ah...until later, then."

And perhaps in the meantime he could find some way to repay her....

Day 58: Cafeteria

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