damned_institute | Night 58: Main Hallway, 1-Center

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Night 58: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[from here]

Turning the corner, Vino found that, in fact, he was very much early, it seemed. Huh. There was no one yet in this central hallway, though if he looked back towards the west side of the building, that strange person with the unnatural-looking white hair had gone down that end of the big hallway. He could still see the whiteness of their hair standing out from the darkness of the atmosphere around them.

He spent a few moments watching this person, then lost interest, instead finding the nearest wall to lean against to wait for the other person to show. Healing powers! He'd be able to see them in action, right? Vino wondered what it was like, having an injury healed with the kind of abilities that this kid had. Would it be like Czeslaw's 'healing,' he wondered? That would definitely be interesting to see, wouldn't it? Watching your own injury just mend itself like that. Like magic!

But while this ability certainly could be a useful one to have, Vino hadn't decided yet whether this would be an ability he'd want in his arsenal. Felt a bit like cheating, didn't it? What would be the point in challenging yourself to do things if there was no thrill in it? (Most people would call this the 'thrill of danger,' but Vino didn't believe in such a thing for himself.)

If you could always heal yourself from any injury, then how could you tell the difference between being alive and... not? There'd be no difference then, that's what!

A pause in his thoughts as Vino checks around again to see if he can spot any familiar head of spiky hair. Nope, no one fitting the description yet. He settles in to wait.

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Promising to be able to continue as normal without limiting what normal was could be deemed faulty on Nigredo's part, but Albedo acquiesced lightly, moved to smile and then follow his younger brother. Moving forward put them close in view to the sun room, and near there resided one whose ears set him apart in the near dark. Albedo gestured, and Nigredo moved over to him.

For a moment, Nigredo spoke naturally, and Albedo realized, quietly, amusedly, that he hadn't seen fit to let his brother know about Ritsuka's change at night. Oops. He twisted his lips in order to hide the grin but the success at this point, in this mood, was more than unlikely. He ended up giggling, more childlike than unhinged. "What's wrong, Nigredo?~ See something you like?"

Sticking his tongue out at his brother, he then turned to Ritsuka with a bright grin and skipped the few feet inbetween them, stopping only from the effects of the drugs. Bah. This was ruining a perfectly pleasant night. He grabbed Ritsuka's sleeve instead in greeting, smiling. "How was your day?"

Thankfully, Nigredo and Albedo showed up quickly before the shadows got any closer. As before, Nigredo was quiet whereas Albedo happily came up to Ritsuka, stopping just short of actually touching him. After their morning meeting, it was understandable; even if Ritsuka didn't quite understand why Albedo was smiling like that. "Hey," he replied, looking down at the tug on his sleeve. They seemed to be doing well and Nigredo was no longer in his wheelchair so that was good. Although he was staring at...

Oh.

Ritsuka's ears slid back and lowered against his head, embarrassed at having forgotten that Nigredo hadn't seen him like this yet. "Um, it was..." Terrible. "Alright, I guess. How about you guys?"

Albedo didn't seem to be suffering any obvious side effects from whatever it was that had caused him pain that morning. And Nigredo, other than his staring, seemed well enough, too. As long as Ritsuka ignored the feeling that he was being watched from the spider hanging over their heads - a spider that he knew could not be real or the others would have noticed - he was fine as well. His tail twitched erratically and he tried to tear his eyes away from the illusion, succeeding in dropping his gaze to Nigredo and his curious expression. "They're real, by the way. Albedo didn't tell you?"

Being mesmerized by a set of ears had its methods in absorbing attention. Nigredo seemed content to watch them and would have continued for the remainder of the day if not for Albedo and his annoying giggle. All that came thereafter was Nigredo standing stock-still in the hallway, realizing he had just committed a terrible faux pas.

For the second time today, he turned a brilliant shade of crimson.

He tried, however, to write off his actions with some dignity and answered Ritsuka, pushing Albedo's question to the wayside. "I'm fine," he said, before hesitating at the second statement. How embarrassing. Nigredo quietly wished the floor would swallow him whole or at least have the compassion to take away his guilt. "...No, he didn't. I'm sorry for staring." A sigh. "I hadn't expected them."

His brother's ignoring gained the youngest a patented pout, while the casual greeting from Ritsuka almost cancelled that out. And really, he had no need to instigate here, anyway. Nigredo was doing a perfectly fine job of embarrassing himself as is. Albedo leaned into Ritsuka slightly, making sure only clothes touched and not skin.

"It was a day," he gave dryly, after Nigredo's fine. A nice clash and sense and wonder, that; of misery and hope wound in a lucid ball of extremes when given the chance. He sighed quietly, then sent a wave of playful amusement at his brother. And didn't Nigredo like Albedo's friend now?~ He knew that he would.~

For that, Albedo pouted at Ritsuka instead. A part of the boy realized he was being extravagant on all sides, but why not, after today. Why not enjoy what was there, and ignore the rest? Just for tonight. Just right now. "They're very soft," he said, in a sad tone. A grin quirked the side of his mouth. "I like them."

_{[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1162614.html?thread=80159606#t80159606)]}

She had only walked a couple of feet before the gloom resolved itself into more familiar figures. Yomi hesitated some distance away again, but not so much because of a twinge of unnamed emotions this time. It was the curiousness at the sight of the three young boys that struck her first.

Albedo, Nigredo, and... a human? No, not quite. The basement team, it seemed.

With her it would almost be the same party as before; the resemblance was especially striking given that Klavier was right on her heels. But there were still notable differences, namely that the "other selves" weren't in control this time. Her decision to accept or decline Albedo's invitation was based solely on hers, Yomi's, discretion.

And if she refused? What did three young anomalies think they were going to accomplish? The third boy, the one she hadn't met before, resonated so strongly as human to her senses that it was almost laughable. Was he aware that the pale-haired cherub hanging off of him, along with his twin, were in many ways the antithesis of human?

What an adorable group, she thought, but the way she looked at them didn’t express that sentiment.

Looking back over her shoulder for Klavier, Yomi smiled a slow smile and said, "Old friends," inclining her head toward the trio. Except instead of friendship there was bad blood and bad memories, yet the only way past those things was looking to be through them. What was one more bad memory in the long run? Another log on the pyre. "Why not say hi? I’ll hold your hand this time if you want." And reaching for Klavier’s hand was precisely what she did, though neither of them were the same people who had held hands before. If Klavier had tried to pull away, he would have found Yomi’s grip to be an impersonal restraint preventing him from escape.

She didn’t just get her strings pulled. She, too, was more than capable of pulling some herself.

"Look how easy it is for people to find each other," said Yomi, coming up on the group. Her other hand held the mock Shishiou, which she kept lowered by her leg. "It might just be the easiest thing about this place. Hello, you three. You all look so… cozy. I’m Yomi. Look who happened to find me--Klavier."

Edited 2011-09-23 01:43 (UTC)

What's this now? When we have it? And was that a faint whisper of playful amusement he heard in her tones?

Doth his ears deceive him or was Yomi passive aggressively extending him an invitation to tag along?

Far be it for Klavier of all people not to appreciate such a thing, but the shift was a bit... unexpected, to put it mildly. If he was reading that right, that is. It did earn a little bit of a smile, admittedly. He almost could have found it cute if they were in a less hostile environment. And, you know, if she hadn't just used a very large blade as her indicator. Somehow, he had managed to miss the weapon within the darkness. A sword. That was... Wait, where did she even get that? ... Where had anyone he'd seen with swords get them, actually? And what was she thinking? That wasn't exactly the kind of thing you waved around casually.

It was for this reason above all others that he hesitated briefly before ultimately following after her. He wasn't sure what to think at the moment, to be frank. Which was why he was fine with playing the part of observer for now. And he was fine with being the one to follow her rather than vice versa.

He was about to play along to her tune a bit and feign a playfully amused reply back when the Fräulein paused in her steps. It wasn't until she turned to him and indicated what had distracted her that he even noticed the group. It was dark and there were several people wandering around the area. There hadn't been much reason to notice. Especially since they mostly blended so well. All were small and two had black hair, perfect for avoiding second glances after nightfall. But one... was white.

And it was in that recognition that Klavier froze. He wasn't given much time to react or voice any dissent or warnings. No. For some reason that could not be explained by anything other than full-blown insanity, Yomi grabbed hold of Klavier's hand and pulled him over toward the group. There was some sideways jab regarding that brainwashed evening, but it was pushed aside for now in favor of her "let's say hi" comment.

She was joking. Please tell him she was joking. She was joking right? Right? She wasn't actually -- dear heaven, yes she actually WAS yanking him over there. And was giving off introductions like this was some high school reunion.

Between her completely unfathomable behavior, the children he recognized, the one that he didn't, and this seemingly ridiculous coincidence, Klavier could do nothing but stand there. And simply stare in surprise. "..............."

So much for objective calm.

"No one ever expects them," Ritsuka said, looking to his side as Albedo edged in closer. The pale-haired boy was so close they were almost touching, but he kept far enough away - likely a lesson learned from this morning. It was still weird how Albedo talked about Ritsuka's ears, but not in a bad way. It was more due to a strange sense of nostalgia, and Ritsuka almost expected the words to come in a different voice and from an older man. The memory was painful, however, and he pushed it aside for now. Nigredo's embarrassment would only be made worse if Ritsuka allowed his brother to tease him like this. "But it's alright, you don't have to apologize. I'm the only one left here like this so--"

His ears shot up as they picked up noise from down the hall and Ritsuka turned his head in that direction. Someone - or something - was coming. With his hallucinations, he had no way of knowing if what he heard was real, but soon enough the darkness gave way to two human shapes - two adult human shapes - and he relaxed. The woman was Japanese and seemed to know Albedo and Nigredo, the man seemed to be frozen to the spot as if he'd just seen a ghost. Perhaps he was under the same drug effects as Ritsuka then. Yomi and Klavier, more friends (if that were really the case) that Ritsuka didn't know.

"...Aoyagi Ritsuka." He spoke hesitantly, emotion mirrored by the way his ears flicked back and his tail swung behind him. Were they all going to the basement? There was safety in numbers, certainly, but there was also danger. Would it be wise to go with so many? "...You guys all know each other?"

His eyebrow twitched at the pair, specifically for the proximity between them and what was an obvious attempt at teasing. What in the world is Albedo doing? Nigredo thought in disbelief. Although, he had to admit Albedo sincerely enjoyed Ritsuka's company, which in turn, brought a brief sense of relief. This was a first for Nigredo: to witness his sibling favor someone outside of family. And in a way he wouldn't admit to himself, he felt a little--

Jealous? Geez, Nigredo. That's not like you.

--lonely. Maybe. He never had the time to process as the sentiment was quickly overwhelmed by another. Rituska cut off at a sound, and Nigredo followed the boy's line of sight to watch Yomi and Klavier approach. About time, too. Nigredo didn't want to stay in this hallway for another--

Wait.

The variant froze in his spot, expression contorting to show his utter astonishment. What was Klavier doing here!? No, never mind. The culprit was obvious. His eyes narrowed at the female beside Klavier, finding it extremely hard to believe she had brought him along out of blissful ignorance. A part of Nigredo was tempted to grab Albedo and Ritsuka and activate the ring before the minute of shock wore off. The rest wanted to escape to his room.

Instead, Nigredo addressed Ritsuka. "...Yes." He exhaled slowly, before gesturing to the rest of the party. They might as well fight it out in the basement (and hopefully not in the literal sense). "Everyone, grab a hold of me. I'll leave you behind if you're late," he said, aiming the red gem toward the wall.

Nigredo counted to five and then shattered the gem. The dark vanished like it had never been.

[To here.]

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Night 58: Main Hallway, 1-Center

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