Day 58: Arts & Crafts (Fourth shift)

[immortale]

Firo was glad to see the end of lunch, if only for the fact that in a few more hours, the day would be over. Night was the only time he had any real freedom of movement, and it was the only time he could do something worth doing, instead of just sitting around.

The usual soldier came to fetch him shortly after the announcement, with only a curt, "Come along, Saviano." Firo frowned, but followed him out of the cafeteria into the Sun Room.

He would have been fine with stopping there, but the soldier apparently had other ideas. When Firo stopped, he went so far as to grab hold of his shoulder and roughly steer him into one of the adjoining rooms, ignoring his protests all the while. The new room was full of round tables with various items like colored paper and paint in the middle, and Firo had a sinking feeling about it. What had the activity mentioned in the announcement been? Arts and crafts?

"What am I supposed to do in here?" he spat at the guard.

"Draw a flower. Make a bracelet. I don't care," was the gruff response before the soldier disappeared out the door.

Firo had half a mind to follow him out, but no—he'd wait a few minutes first, just in case he got shoved back into the pointless room. In the meantime, he took a seat at one of the tables, turning his chair towards the door and leaning his head against one arm propped up on the table.

[For Battler]

Comments

[nobleman]

It was probably going to take him a few nights to get it done, but Guy had prepared for that. Even though he knew that a lot of effort was going to have to go into this, he knew that it would be worth it in the end. "Yeah... I mean, carrying a sword around unsheathed can be really dangerous, especially in this place." He hadn't had any accidents thus far, but that was also because he'd been taking extra precautions. If he had a sheath, he wouldn't need to worry about any of that.

The question that Ilia asked him next took him by surprise, simply because Guy hadn't realized that she'd already heard about all that. Claude or Anise must have told her, which was completely feasible seeing how she was friends with both. (Well, Claude was her son, but as far as Ilia knew he was just a friend.)

"Yeah, that's... that's right," he replied with a nod. "I didn't make as much use of it as Claude did his, though." He smiled to himself as he recalled what Claude had told him about how he'd taken out that sea creature. Guy, meanwhile, could only hope that his sword hadn't acquired any rust after being submerged in water for so long.

It felt kind of awkward to just be standing near the cabinets and talking, so eventually Guy sent a glance over to one of the nearby tables. "Would you like to go sit down?"

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

Thinking about the great amount of care necessary to keep up with a weapon like a sword made Ilia thankful for her proficiency in martial arts. Her weapons were her fists and feet, which required much lower-maintenance than a sword ever would. So long as she didn't break any bones she was set.

"It's nice to know you're being responsible about it." Guy didn't seem the type to wave around a sword without a care. Ilia could appreciate a mature guy like him stepping up and doing what he could to provide even more protection for those around him.

"Claude did mention a sea serpent," Ilia uttered dryly. Underlying her words was the thoughts 'and he should have said more' but she left that unspoken. She'd said her piece quite clearly over the bulletin. No need to rehash an old argument, especially when Guy wasn't at fault.

She took his offer with a smile, moving to an empty table he had glanced towards. "Certainly. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to ask you a few questions about that basement. Like... where is it located, and why are you all so interested in it?" The place sounded dangerous, but Claude, Guy and Anise, a group Ilia wouldn't think to be reckless, were charging on ahead. It tickled her curiosity.

[nobleman]

As Guy took his seat across from Ilia he realized that she definitely must have spoken to Claude earlier if she knew all about the sea serpent. Then again, with the way Claude's hand was wrapped up it wasn't like he could just hide it or push it off to the side. Maybe that was for the best. Not that Ilia being worried was a good thing, but...

Either way, it seemed that their exploits had been noticeable enough to grab the woman's attention and now Guy was in an uncomfortable position. It wasn't like he could give her all the details even if he wanted to, but he could at least try to inform her while being vague.

"Well, we originally became interested in it because it seemed to be the only real clue to escape. We didn't know what to expect, though, and it turned out to be extremely dangerous -- more than I can even say." It was terrible that they could never make it clear to other patients what the true risk was of going into the coliseum, but Guy had come to realize that it was set up that way.

"We're working our way through the next stage of it now, and I guess you can already see how it's no walk in the park," he continued with a sigh and a small shake of his head. "I can't even say for sure if it's worth it yet."

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

Guy didn't seem too enthusiastic about sharing his information with her, but that was understandable if it was dangerous. And he said just that, confirming her fears. She felt a little disapproving knowing Guy and Claude were allowing Anise to accompany them to such places, even knowing the younger girl's capabilities. It was hard to stanch her mothering instincts.

"So it's a way out? Is that a fact, or just a possibility?" Ilia was intrigued, but she wasn't foolish. If it was just some wild goose chase she would have no part in it. However, if there was even the slightest chance it could lead out, she needed to investigate. After all, the weight of a world was partly on her shoulders back home. She couldn't wait around here indefinitely for someone else to put a stop to the institute if she could manage to escape herself.

"It seems like a pretty big risk." She looked down at her hands. Perhaps she should draw something, but the staff didn't seem quite so mindful of the activities while they were in military garb. She picked up a crayon from the middle of the table and twirled it between her fingers. "In a place like this, some risks have to be taken, right?"

She looked back up at Guy, her eyes unwavering. "I'd like to check this place out myself. Where would I find it?"

[nobleman]

Dammit. Guy had gotten the feeling that the conversation was going to end up going this direction, and it was hard to know how to respond. The last thing he wanted to do was send Claude's mother right into a death trap. He was pretty sure that was one thing that he wouldn't be forgiven for. Maybe the best thing to do was try and discourage the woman for now.

He just hoped it worked. Ilia didn't seem like the sort of person who took no for an answer if she didn't want to.

"It's definitely a big risk. We've been through a lot already," he admitted with a sigh. "And it's definitely only a possibility that this will even lead to anything. I could tell you where to go, but I think it might be better for you to go ahead and wait until we've explored it thoroughly and can tell you if it's worth checking out for yourself."

For now, Guy just wanted Ilia to keep away from that place. No one should have to bear the trials of the basement unless absolutely necessary. More than that, he really needed to run all of this by Claude before he started giving out any specific details about how the place worked. He gave her an apologetic glance, hoping that she wouldn't judge him for being tight-lipped.