Day 61: Recreation Field (Shift 2)

[complicatedliar]

Loki wasn't entirely thrilled about returning to the recreation field, though he supposed it would be nicer during the day. And without the annoying presence of Riku. Some fresh air would likely do him good; that was what Sif and Thor had always claimed right before they dragged him out of the library.

He wasn't entirely certain if that was a pleasant thought or not. It was still far too mixed up and painful.

He was allowed to go back to his room and pull out every bit of warm clothing he had, bundling up as much as he could. As he followed the nurse out into the field, he also wondered if this meant he would miss out on the greenhouse, since he'd arranged to meet Soma after lunch. That had priority, of course, but he did find plants interesting. At least it was good to know there were activities they were forced to participate in during the day that weren't as horrifically painful as, say, what the music room would indicate.

Good to know that as prisons went, it wasn't all just torture, torture, torture. Some variation was good for the mind.

He wandered along the crunchy, dead grass, for now steering clear of the few other patients. The air felt much better during the day, smelled much better to him as well as he sniffed at it. even if it was cold enough to make his nose hurt. It reminded him uncomfortably of Jotunheim, and...

But at least here, there was sunlight. He wasn't trapped in that dark place as sometimes was in his nightmares.

Loki stopped about halfway down the field, tilting his head back to take in the thin sunlight, his eyes slipping shut.

[Here, angel angel angel... :D Castiel!]

Comments

[terriblehaiku]

It was cold as Hijikata was ushered outside by his less than congenial nurse escort--the sort of cold that rarely greeted him back home and made him long for the luxury of burrowing under the covers until the day warmed itself to a more reasonable temperature. That, unfortunately, wasn't an option here, and while the clothing they had handed out seemed to be doing an adequate job of warding off the worst of the chill, it did nothing to improve his general distaste of the whole situation.

Things were casual today, without the imposed discipline of his last trip to the field. No one calling out names that didn't belong to them, no one demanding they run laps... although, he noted wryly, it would have been a good way to keep warm. Just a scattering of patients either talking or looking rather aimless. Out of habit, he reached towards the kimono sleeve that wasn't there, looking for an equally absent pipe. Scowling to himself, he shoved his hands into his pockets instead, and began looking around for any familiar faces. The one he wanted, in particular, wasn't there, and he sighed to himself. Perhaps it was for the best. Souji didn't need to be out in weather like this, and he needed to learn not to be so anxious whenever the younger man was out of his sight. It was, unfortunately, easier said than done.

[Okita]

[notachick]

When he woke up slightly groggy and then was told he'd missed breakfast, Okita was a little disappointed. Breakfast was usually when he checked in with Hijikata about what had happened the day before and had begun to be part of his routine here. However, when he thought back on what had happened last night (which, sadly, was not much to be sure) he supposed it wasn't much of a loss. And when he heard what the breakfast had been? He actually felt better for having missed it. He hated pulling the bits of pork meat out of his meals all the time and missing just one such occasion was enough to compensate for one lost meal.

Even better, he was being told he could go outside if he wanted. So, after a few unnecessary and frankly quite boring cautionary notices by the staff, Okita was bundled up into a coat and sent on his way. The thought of being outside - a rare thing indeed around here - was so exhilarating that he practically ran out the door-

Only to instantly regret it.

The gods only knew how cold it was out here and Okita froze when the frigid air struck him. Edo, even in the north, never got this cold and Kyoto, despite being in a sunken valley, never felt this cold either. Hunching down near the wall by the door, Okita surveyed the area and saw a few familiar faces, and one very familiar outline from behind. With a grin, he puffed himself up to keep warm and started walking across the field. It wasn't until he came within range that he broke into a run, throwing himself at Hijikata's back as he called out, "Hiji~kata~san~!"

[terriblehaiku]

The time between his name being called and a certain Shinsengumi captain colliding with his back was not enough for Hijikata to do much more than register a brief moment of 'oh no, what is he doing now?' Granted even with some force behind him, Souji didn't weigh enough to do more than rock him slightly on his feet. Still, the indignity of it was enough to have him scowling as he turned in Souji's direction.

"Souji."

There were any number of things he could have said in reprimand, and perhaps it was the sheer number of them waring in his head that left him unable to actually form a rebuke. Instead, his scowl deepened for a moment before he shoved his hands in his pockets again and settled on muttering "You shouldn't be out in this weather."

[notachick]

"Hello~!" The sour expression on his friend's face did nothing to deter Okita's happy mood, evidenced by the widening of his smile despite the scowl on Hijikata's face. The jacket the taller man was wearing looked as warm as Okita's own, but his actually fit better. Okita felt like he was swimming in his and figured his was cut for someone more Hijikata's size. Maybe they could trade and see if they fit better. Okita was almost about to suggest it when he caught sight of the sour face growing deeper and had to exercise extreme caution not to giggle like a girl.

"No one should be out in this weather, but here we are," he said, returning the rebuke without care. Huddling closer to his friend, Okita smiled up at him. "I missed breakfast so I came to see what you were doing. You did eat, right?"

[terriblehaiku]

Well, he couldn't very well argue with that logic, could he? It was too cold for any sane person to be standing around, and he would have wondered if this was supposed to be some sort of punishment all on its own, had they not done the same exact thing the day he'd arrived. Apparently, they just wanted them out of the building for awhile, although why, he couldn't fathom.

"Hn." He made a noncommittal noise, not about to admit that he'd actually been left to sleep in for awhile--for whatever reason. Perhaps they'd been lazy about waking up the patients in their hallway. He was grateful for the extra sleep, although simultaneously worried that Souji had managed to oversleep. Well, perhaps he was still recovering. It seemed plausible, though it didn't completely dispel the worry that always lurked when it came to the younger man. In lieu of actually making any further comment, he dropped a hand on Souji's shoulder, stepping a little closer in an effort to keep him warmer, or at least act as a windbreak to hold off the chill as much as possible.

[notachick]

"That's not an answer," Souji pointed out, poking Hijikata playfully in the side as he put an arm around the younger man. The gesture was welcome, especially since it helped provide some protection against the cold. He really didn't understand why the Institute liked to toss them outside when it was obviously a stupid idea, but he supposed that Martin Landel - newly back in power - cared even less for the patients than he did before his temporary fall from grace. Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter in the long run. What did matter was staying warm and teasing his friend for his reluctance to answer.

"Did you or didn't you eat?" he asked again, settling in next to his friend before bringing his hands up to his face to breath on his fingers. He wished they still had those Western gloves from the military uniform. Those had been moderately warm.

[terriblehaiku]

Hijikata made an irritated grunt when Souji poked him in the side, but didn't pull away. That would have just encouraged him to keep doing it, after all. Although, knowing Souji, he'd keep up the teasing even if he got no reaction at all. It really was a no-win situation with him, most days.

"I didn't want what they were serving," he replied. Which, had he actually been there, probably would have been true. So far, the Western style food they cooked here had been by and large utterly disgusting. He actually missed the pink mush a bit. At least that, he'd found palatable. "They need better cooks."

[notachick]

Well, Okita couldn't argue with that. It was still an ambiguous answer, but it was probably as much as he was going to get out of him. Hijikata had opened a new line of conversation anyway and Okita was more than happy to follow that - even if it reminded him of someone who was no longer here. She was outside of the Institute now; although to say she was 'well' was a far cry from the truth. "Yes, that's true," he said, pulling his hands in against his chest. "I heard there was something new about the rewards for those stickers we get, though?"

Whether better food was a part of it, Okita wasn't sure, but new rewards always held more hope. Which, when he realized how pathetic that sounded, made them seem a little less desirable. They were like prisoners grasping at straws to feel even a little bit more human during the day. The high walls and the guards, the nurses always watching them, the carefully constructed schedules, it was all a dehumanizing experience. He turned his gaze to the wall then, trying to force the smile on his lips to stay.

"There used to be a club here," he started, sounded far more nostalgic than he meant. "It spent their evenings cooking of all things. Sweets and small things, but that was their entire purpose. A club for cooking."

He looked back to Hijikata, smiling a bit more naturally. "Isn't it strange?"

[terriblehaiku]

"So it seems," he replied, although he had only the vaguest idea of what that really entailed. He had one such sticker stuck to the irritating band they'd all been 'rewarded' with, but didn't know what it meant or what he'd done to get it. It seemed to match the small metal pins that had once adorned the hats the soldiers had insisted they wear, but that didn't tell him much.

He could sense that little shift in mood from Souji and tightened the arm around his shoulder, wondering if he was thinking of Ayumu and the disconcerting meeting they'd had with that woman wearing her face a few days ago. It had been troubling for him, and he could only imagine it had been more so for Souji.

"It's one way to spend the time," he replied after a moment. "Probably a safer one." Safety wasn't for them, of course, but perhaps for some of the people trapped here... they couldn't all be trained fighters. He was already sure of that. So finding something to keep them occupied... he could see the value in that, if not in the activity itself.

[notachick]

A safer one, perhaps, but now all the members were gone. So yes, the venture had been safe, but it had resulted in everyone leaving. Maybe it was the lack of focused purpose, the loss of drive that caused people to disappear here and wake up in a bed elsewhere, thinking they were someone else. He looked out over the wall again and wondered what that was like; simply giving up on his real life but also on the monotony of this place for a false sense of purpose and forward movement. Okita felt the arm around his shoulder pull him just a little closer and he turned his attention back to Hijikata, smiling.

"Just a few weeks ago at home it was so much nicer and now this," he said, suddenly switching topics again. He motioned to the cloudy sky and the cold air around them, seemingly bemused by the change of it all. Okita was certain there was a time gap between him and Hijikata, but he had never quite been able to determine how much. Hijikata, for all the stress in his life, never seemed to age much and so there were few clues Okita could go on. Instead, he scuffed his toe at the ground, frowning. "I wish they'd have left the snow, though. I never got to play in it properly. Do you think if we get enough stickers, then we'd get snow back?"

[terriblehaiku]

"It's always nicer than this back home," he replied with a snort. From Souji's perspective, he supposed, it had been fall, and only a few days ago, he himself had been watching as spring faded its way into the warmer months. Rarely was there ever cold like this to contend with. Just one more thing that had been taken along with their freedom, he supposed.

"Idiot." His hand moved to ruffle Souji's hair lightly, as though he were still a boy, before everything had gotten so horribly complicated. "You'd just catch another cold playing in it." It was practice that let him joke about it without wincing, even as he shoved the anxiety away. Try as he might, he wouldn't be able to forget that night and the horrible sounds of Souji's coughing, couldn't shake the dread that, despite having him back now, it had simply been a dress rehearsal for something worse laid out ahead of them on their path. "I doubt you can trade stickers for snow, anyway."