Day 61: Sun Room [Second Shift]

[baniichan]

Even if he hadn't eaten much, the time to himself had helped improve Barnaby's overall state of mind. Despite the grueling insomnia that had plagued him before his arrival, he felt remarkably well rested now. Maybe he didn't agree with all of this Landel's Institute's methods, but there was no denying that he was much more stable than before.

Of course, he hadn't managed to shake the knot of unease tightening in the pit of his stomach, nor the restlessness that seized him when he thought of all of the recent revelations concerning Ouroboros, as well as his own recollections of that Christmas Eve nearly 21 years ago. Ill or not, he didn't have time to sit in a hospital right now. He needed to talk to Mr. Maverick.

Studying his bare wrist, Barnaby inwardly sighed as he stepped out of the cafeteria. Though his knee-jerk reaction earlier this morning had been to assume that someone from Apollon would get in touch with him shortly, he realized that he may not be in any state to continue with his hero work. The fact that the doctors had deemed it necessary to confiscate his PDA said more than anyone here was willing to tell him to his face.

That didn't mean they had a right to take his cell phone, though. Unfortunately, when he asked about it, his nurse thought otherwise.

"Like I said, Mr. Banks, this program doesn't allow for outside contact with friends and family except under specific circumstances," she reminded him.

"Brooks," he flatly stated.

The nurse blinked. "Excuse me?"

"My name isn't Banks," he corrected her. "It's Brooks -- Barnaby Brooks Jr." The nurse glanced down at her clipboard and nodded in understanding.

"Of course it is, dear," she said in a tone that conveyed that she was just humoring him. Barnaby's fingers curled into a fist at his side, but otherwise his face remained remarkably composed.

"I understand if you feel the need to downplay my presence due to my occupation," he spoke in slow, measured words, "but you'll have to excuse me if I find your methods extreme and, quite frankly, unnecessary." Combined with the Head Doctor's poor excuse for an announcement a few moments ago, their conversation just made Barnaby conclude that this facility was being run a bunch of incompetent morons. Barnaby had no intention of causing a scene, but he wasn't going to just roll over and let the staff treat him like a child, either.

"That said, I'd like to look at the paperwork that was signed the day I was committed here," he stated, his shoulders squared as he look his nurse right in the eye. "I should know what my rights are."

"I'm afraid I don't have the authority to do that."

"Then put me in touch with the person who does."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, either."

Frustration welled up inside Barnaby, and he took a small breath. He couldn't wait to get in touch with his attorney later. "Then what, exactly, can you do?"

The nurse smiled. "Take you to the recreational field, of course. The other male patients are there now. Wouldn't you like to make some friends?"

Barnaby folded his arms, his cool gaze falling onto a bulletin board located along the wall. "Actually, I'd rather stay in the sun room and read what's over there, if you don't mind." He didn't catch the flicker of disappointment on the nurse's face, though he wouldn't have cared much even if he had. As long as he wasn't hurting anyone or himself, they didn't have the authority to dictate how he spent every second of his time.

"We do allow patients to stay here during activity shifts, so I suppose you can do that," she said, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Barnaby nodded. "All right, then." With that, he made his way over to the bulletin and began to peruse through the notes. Perhaps he'd learn a little more about this place and how some of the other patients could even stand being here.

[For Renamon!]

Comments

[lighthearted]

While it had been good to see Riku, their conversation had been pretty serious. Still, Sora realized that he couldn't be goofing off with his friends all the time, especially not here. If there was a chance that the Arts and Crafts club was in some sort of danger, then they had to handle it.

So it was a good thing that he'd just happened to arrange to meet with Soma in this next shift. The original reason had been because she apparently had something to tell him (which sounded both important and mysterious!), but now he was also planning to ask for her thoughts on Lingormr. She had apparently thought he was someone who should be directed to join the club, but Sora wanted more detail than that.

Normally he wouldn't have minded going outside, even if it was cold, but in this case he was going to have to stay behind if he wanted to find Soma. His nurse was reluctant at first, but Sora decided to be honest and explain.

"I made plans to meet a friend, but it's a girl, so... if I go out onto the field, we'll miss each other!" In the end, the nurses weren't going to discourage people from getting friendly with each other, so she left him alone after that.

Which meant that Sora had a mostly empty room to wander through and some time to kill before Soma showed up. She would probably be wandering through here soon, so Sora decided to just scan over the bulletin board until she arrived.

[For Soma.]

[madeinthehrl]

It was just as well she had a meeting with Sora. Every attempt to follow orders in the greenhouse had thus far ended with dirt and seeds everywhere except where they were supposed to be, and the few flowers she had managed to transplant were probably dead by now. They hadn't really covered gardening back at the Human Enhancement Agency.

Her conversation with Rapunzel had been...enlightening, to say the least, and for once it felt as if she'd answered a question or two about this place, even if there were still countless more swimming around in her head. This wasn't really her area of expertise any more than planting flowers was, but at least she felt as if she was getting somewhere with it.

Sora was easy enough to spot, and Soma headed over immediately, inclining her head slightly as she approached. "Sora. How have you been?"

[inherited]

There was a brief moment in which Riku considered leaving a note to Kratos to inform him that they would be meeting, but the last thing that needed to happen was any attention drawn to the matter. Riku immediately took note that Lingormr wasn't present in the Sun Room as he slipped inside. That made it easier to believe that the note could go unnoticed, but he didn't want to take any chances. Instead, he would have to be quick when he saw the older man, and move swiftly. So, for the time being, he passed by the board and didn't write anything. His eyes scanned the information present and then he moved away.

His talk with Sora hadn't gone that well, even if Sora was willing to listen to him. The odds of them seeing eye to eye on such a matter were always going to be slim. Riku would always be the way he was, even if it worried his friend. It didn't make it any easier to accept. Some part of him actually loathed that he was the way he was, but no matter how many attempts he made to change it, it would end up the same way. His instincts were just inclined that way. Sora and Kairi had the ability to follow their hearts and to do good. Riku would always be left in the shadow of that, no matter what he did.

His lips twisted down into a frown as he stopped before a seat and sat down. This was the time of day to seek out information, and he needed to be more proactive about it. However, he wasn't sure how to start. Not too many people were around here, and he wanted to avoid coming face to face with his partner from the night before. He figured keeping his eyes open for someone might be a good place to start.

[for Rei]

[hasnomeaning]

She hadn't gotten far at all. Had barely made a move before light was again moving inside the room, the intercom spitting out that man's voice. She stared, for a moment, at the ceiling, and experienced the perfect rare sensation of frustration. It was disallowed nearly instantly, and she swallowed it. Waited until the nurse came to collect her and followed after. She ate what was offered, and used the time to organize her thoughts. Enough to underline the point that she needed more information. Things had changed.

Passing on the female area deposited her into the sun room, and with few in there so far, it made seeing one who would be useful more simple. She had spoken to him twice, and he had showed himself as intelligent and knowledgeable. To that end, she went against the habit to remain by herself and angled towards him, stopping in front of him. "Good morning," she said quietly, inclining her head.

[diamondstorm]

With breakfast over, the Digimon only had want of moving to the board to check on the notes she had placed there before. If both Badou and Leanne answered, that would simplify things. Once both were there she would offer to bring them with--both seemed overjoyed, in their own ways, that she had completed what she had promised--that moved to serve that they might want something secondary as well. Plus Renamon needed to pay back Byrne for his kindness. If the town reset as severely as the institute, then she'd be able to easily.

To that end, she passed on the female shift, moving instead towards the bulletin board. Where a tall man stood in front of. A brief glance held him as one she didn't recognize, and with hair and height like that, it more spoke that he was recent, rather than she had passed over him. Still. First things first. "Excuse me," she said politely, gesturing to the board.

[baniichan]

The messages Barnaby found on the board weren't particularly helpful. Some patients, he found, had adopted odd aliases for themselves, while others seemed more interested in creating self-help clubs and study groups. In other words, none of this was of any use to him in terms of learning more about their location, the history of this facility, its methods, or any productive way to reason with the staff.

Placing a hand against his chin, he considered leaving a message of his own with some questions, but he decided that, for now, he favored face-to-face interaction for that sort of thing. It was easier to read a person's body language, for one thing. Secondly, he wasn't sure how detrimental it would be to his image to admit in writing, where everyone in the building could read, that he'd been sent here. Not only that, but he hadn't been able to determine whether the other patients here were reliable sources of information. For all he knew, some idiot would try to pose as multiple people in order to throw him off.

His thoughts were interrupted when a young woman spoke to him. Barnaby glanced at her, briefly taking note of her Asian features, the odd markings on her face, and her unusually bright-colored eyes.

"Certainly," he answered, matching her politeness. Without another word, he moved over just enough for her to get a better look at the board.

[age_of_kings]

Well! Breakfast had been...well...

Well, it had been something, at any rate! Tolten really wasn't certain what to think at this point. While his conversation with Locke had certainly helped him set straight some things, it had confused him in a myriad of entirely new ways.

He kept going back to what Locke had said, about not expecting anyone to find love here. But love was born in the strangest and most dire of places, if his minor observations were accurate. Why not here? Why on earth couldn't he fall in love, or find someone who fell in love with him? He'd considered it an impossibility back home - Uhra was not Numara - but this wasn't home.

Regardless, he didn't feel like jogging about in the cold with everyone milling about. Instead he opted for the Sun Room. He wasn't going to be posting any adverts - not until he'd done a bit of thinking, anyway - but he would rather sit in the warmth and put his mind to things.

And so he did just so, taking a seat and casting his eyes upward towards the glass ceiling.

"I can do as I please, really..." he muttered to himself, as though testing the idea.

[Celty!]

[tryingtogetahead]

For some reason, even in the short times she got to speak with him, Claire always seemed to remind her a bit of Shinra. That resemblance might have just been her wishful thinking though. After seeing Shinra there, she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing outside of these walls. He obviously had to trust that they were taking care of her somehow to have come disguised like that. Otherwise she wouldn't have put it past that idiot to do something like... she didn't know... throw a chemical bomb into the place or something!

Well wasn't that a cheery thought?

Celty hung her head as she entered the Sun Room and mulled over to a grouping of chairs without much thought. A place to sit was always nice, and it would do her some good to get her thoughts sorted out. "Why did I have to fall for such an idiot...?" she found herself muttering.

[fonichymn]

The fatigue dwindled by the end of breakfast, allowing Tear to maintain a steady focus on her tasks. The notice for the paramedic group went up as scheduled while tonight's tasks were carefully outlined and subsequently detailed. She was on track today, a stark contrast from the past few days, and the Melodist had no choice but to continue as such. If she wanted to fulfill her duty, she had to continue.

A part of her asked herself on whose term she was trying to convince. The rest refused to answer.

In consideration of her condition, her nurse had brought Tear to the Sun Room. As she had to keep an eye on the bulletin, the young woman complied without complaint. She settled into a seat by the bulletin board, eyes open for any she recognized. So far, none caught her sight, but given this environment, it was only a matter of time before Tear found someone she needed to talk to.

[For Luke.]

[dispersive]

Breakfast was eaten alone and it was probably for the best because the storm cloud above him was lethal enough to zap anyone who got too close.

It was another night with nothing accomplished. No, no, that wasn't even the frustrating part. If he didn't finish what he had set out to do, fine. There was nothing wrong about picking all the pieces back up and trying again, but he couldn't even remember what exactly did and didn't get accomplished. Obviously, they didn't find Landel because, hey, he was still here! They could have found the third floor, but it was looking unlikely.

Luke had to wonder if this was going to happen every night. So far, he had woken up without a scratch, but what was he to do when that ended and he was missing an arm or something? What then?

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts, the redhead didn't realize he had left the cafeteria until something disrupted his periphery. Quite a few patients and nurses walked briskly through the Sun Room and outside. It seemed like he was headed for the recreational field again until he suddenly stopped in the middle of the room.

Far away, Tear sat alone, finding something particularly fascinating about the opposite wall.

"Milo...? Milo!" Apparently his nurse hadn't seen him stop and had continued to the double doors without him. He wasn't sure who Milo was, but it made him turn all the same to see her expectant frown.

"Actually, can I talk to my friend?" Briefly, the replica lifted his hand in Tear's direction, just in case the woman thought he was trying to sneak out of going out in the cold, which... Yes, he kind of was! It took a moment, but her dubious frown landed him a firm nod and that was all the confirmation he needed.

He trotted instead of walked the few meters that lay between them, equally as excited to talk with Tear as to escape his constant buzzard. When he stood behind her, his courage suddenly vanished for a moment. That same surreal feeling his first night came back to him like a slap in the face. The adrenaline from the monster scare had gotten rid of it quickly, but now he was stuck with it.

"Hey, uh, you waitin' on someone?" he asked quietly behind her, realizing it was a little late to consider himself a pest if he was interrupting something important she needed to take care of.

[rocksthecourt]

It had been quite a while since Klavier found himself faced with so many conflicting emotions upon waking. At first, he'd been confused. Everything had changed. The soldiers, the uniforms, even Herr Kommandant... they were all gone. Disappeared as though it had all been nothing more than a passing dream. Only in this case, it was simply a case of replacing one nightmare for another. Whether soldiers or nurses, the tune was exactly the same. They were all still trapped there.

But even so, he'd foolishly felt some kind of optimistic relief when his morning had started with a nurse's cheery smile rather than barking orders. Yes, his inquiries were met with confusion on her end, but he hardly found it off putting. He'd long since given up on getting answers from the staff. And he was so happy to see her back that he didn't even care about her being ignorant and uncooperative.

This, however, was short-lived. Because as soon as his nurse started talking about getting breakfast, Klavier finally realized what exactly a change in uniform meant. Namely, the fact that he wouldn't be able to hide the embarrassing gauze pad taped to the upper side of his head under a hat anymore. It was something he hadn't had to worry about too much outside the showers. But as things were now... it was embarrassing just to have the nurse see it, let alone the entire populace.

Unfortunately, the woman didn't seem at all understanding of his plight, and this led to an argument that lasted almost the entirety of breakfast. Klavier was stubborn normally anyway. But this? This he would allow absolutely no leeway for. Because he absolutely, positively refused to go out looking like this. And asking him to ignore it was almost as impossible as asking him to excuse the grating twang of a poorly tuned instrument. It simply could not be done. But in the end, Klavier found himself here, his shame bare for all to see and nothing but hunger rewarding him for his stubbornness.

Despite how painfully self-conscious he was, however, there was absolutely no way he was going to meekly huddle in a corner and hide himself. No, no. He simply grit his teeth behind closed lips and walked in just as he normally would. He even smiled as he did so. A big arrogant grin, at that. Oh he was embarrassed, yes, but that feeling just made him want to flaunt himself that much more, facing it head on and sweeping it aside all at once. Yes, that's right. He is Klavier Gavin and he has a bandage on his head. Problem? No? Good.

With that settled, he walked over to the bulletin board to see what bits of "daily" gossip" he may have missed so far. He certainly hoped whatever was up was well worth all this hassle.

[secretly grumpy as hell, but freeeee]

[fourstonewalls]

Winter wasn't something most Angelenos relished, except as an occasional thing one drove up into the mountains to ski in. Lana was just as happy to avoid going outdoors even for the short path to the greenhouse.

Hmm. Klavier Gavin was, if one could accuse a prosecutor of doing any such thing, loitering near the bulletin, looking like he'd spent his entire life gearing up for nothing other than standing around a facsimile of a mental institution. Whatever else the young man had, or didn't, he certainly had style. Lana didn't try to match it; she merely walked up to the board and started flipping through the notices.

She paused on one, not quite smiling at it so much as looking a little less grim, and then went on until she ran across handwriting that she knew she'd seen before, but she couldn't be completely sure. The description of the girl and the fact that his natural inclination had been to catalog any discrepancies, despite what had to have been an unnerving sight, made it more likely.

"And how has patient life been treating you, Prosecutor Gavin?" Lana said, without turning away from considering what she was tentatively tagging as Byrne's description. "I suppose it's better than the alternative."

[rainboompow]

"Growing stuff? Blech, no thanks. That's Applejack's deal," Rainbow Dash had said after her nurse's invitation to head out to the greenhouse for a shift. The nurse gave her an odd look, having figured that "Cori" would have preferred to be outside, but went along with her charge's wishes and left her to her own devices in the Sun Room.

It was true: Rainbow would definitely have preferred to be outside at that moment. That nurse had no idea how much. Secretly, though, Rainbow was afraid that going to a place like a greenhouse would just end up being worse than staying inside. For one thing, a greenhouse technically was still inside, even with all the plants and stuff in it. And for another? Having all that glass surrounding her — showing off allllllll the wide, open space that Rainbow could be out flying running in? That would be just be a constant tease to someone like her.

So, grudgingly, Rainbow was going to take her chances on the Sun Room. It had a tantalizing window too, but at least she could ignore it if she really wanted to. In fact, that was exactly what she was going to do. If she couldn't find her friends and she couldn't do much of anything else during the day, then she was going to pursue her second most outstanding talent after flying — napping.

Heading over to one of the couches, Rainbow extended her arms, planted her palms on the cushions, and vaulted herself onto the cushions in one (mostly) smooth move. She had to admit, now that she had the hang of it? Moving in a human body wasn't that hard. She was actually kind of embarrassed it had taken her so long. But then again, maybe it would have taken somepony else even longer to figure out. Maybe that was just her innate awesome-itude showing through, that she was able to master the motions in less than twenty-four hours. "Rainbow Dash, how did you get so awesome?" she said to herself, yawning and folding her arms behind her head.

[80's toy franchise reboot party in da haus~]

[hiddenbadass]

As much as Mike liked certain aspects of winter, he didn't feel like dealing with it today. His nurse complained that he should get some exercise, but he simply told her to take him to the Sun Room instead. After last night, maybe finding a place to relax for a few would be good for him.

Except just as he started looking for a couch, a young woman launched herself onto the closest one to him. It was a nice landing, and her hair made his eyebrows rise. Who the heck had rainbow-colored hair? This place was a damned insane asylum, not a beauty school, so where had she gotten her hair dyed like that? Although, all considering.. it could've been natural. Especially with the eyes he only had a momentary glimpse of.

He overheard her talking to herself. Rainbow Dash, huh? That certain didn't sound like a human name. Or, at least it didn't sound like a human name that any parent with a brain would give their kid. So, either she wasn't human or her parents were the type that had no problem embarrassing their children from the moment they were born. Even Splinter had gone to give his sons appropriate names and he had been a rat and they had been turtles. But seriously, who named their kid 'Rainbow'?

Eh, he was just curious enough that he might as well talk--especially since it'd get rid of his annoying nurse that kept on trying to get him talking to someone again. No, no, he was not repressed and introverted. At least not that much. He could talk to people when he wanted.

"Nice landing, kid," he commented with a nod of appreciation.

[Sorry for the delay! Here we go.]

[fluctuate]

"I might get dirt under my nails," Ramona complained, and it was said firmly enough that she managed to get away from being in the greenhouse for this part of the day. It wasn't actually a legitimate concern, but her nurse seemed to understand. If Ramona didn't want to go out and do all of that, then it was fair that she could skip that part of the day. The truth was, she found enforced activities to be pretty lame. Chopping up Stephen Stills' vegetables for a communal Vegan meal was one thing. Playing with plants for a crazy institute was another. And it wasn't that she had anything against plants. She liked them most of the time. She had everything against this place that decided to trap her.

Either way, she was given freedom, and she took it by the horns. By which it meant that she leisurely strolled into the Sun Room and took a look around. What really startled her was how many younger people there were in there. Okay, yeah, there were a couple individuals of the older, more attractive variety—especially a couple of those blond guys—but for the most part, they were kids. Did this place really think it could pass with all these crazy kids? There were a lot of them.

But most importantly: she zeroed in on the girl with the crazy hair. Crazier than anything she had ever attempted, because the one time she tried more than two colors, it just looked tacky. Did she think she was trying to one-up her? There was no way that was acceptable, and it irritated her a lot because ... truthfully, she kind of pulled it off.

As much as the urge was overwhelming to go talk to the girl and ask her how she managed it, Ramona was far too critical to play nice about it right now. So she completed her leisurely stroll by finding a seat and sitting in it. This was so much better than gardening.

[for Scott and Harvey]

[vstheworld]

Now loading: Super Go And Check On Ramona Fighter Alpha.

Stage 2. Lives Remaining: 1. Status: Don't Screw This Up.

FIGHT!!

With belly full and satisfying social interaction complete, Scott took his leave of the cafeteria and zoomed over to the Sun Room, following the blue dot in the crowd ahead. Thankfully, there was no blonde dot following it that he could see. Good, he thought. Hunkasaurus Rex wasn't following her. He had his opening to get in there and reclaim his rightful spot as Guy That Ramona Hung Out With Sometimes And Was Possibly Attracted To.

Attempting to look casual (and ending up looking more overeager), Scott lifted his hand in a half-wave as he approached Ramona's seat. "Hey," he said, smiling and rocking back on his heels a bit. ".........'sup?"

[complicatedliar]

[From here]

Loki kept them to a pace that wouldn't be too quick for the injured man; he was in no hurry himself. He lead Castiel to the Sun Room, since that seemed the most comfortable place to go.

There weren't many people he recognized in the room, though he did see Soma and gave her a smile on the off chance that she was watching. He helped Castiel over to a chair before finally relinquishing the man's arm.

"There, you ought to feel miles better in no time," he said cheerfully as he unzipped his jacket and draped it carefully over the arm of another chair. He didn't offer to help Castiel with his coat; the man didn't seem to be so badly injured that he'd need help, and it always smoothed things over to let a potential new friend keep at least a shred or two of his dignity intact. "How did you come to be injured so badly, if you don't mind my asking?"

[freewill]

As it turned out, Lingormr had managed to convince the nurse to let them back inside with little trouble. He'd been lying as far as Castiel could tell, but the results were difficult to ignore. Castiel wasn't much for lying himself, but he knew that it was something humans did and did often.

Granted, he had his suspicions about Lingormr, but he didn't have the energy to start in on that now. More than that, he realized that he owed the man for helping him inside. He still wasn't convinced that he'd needed the support, but it would be for the best if he pushed himself as little as possible until the night came.

He carefully took a seat in the chair, content to keep his own coat on. It was heated in here, but he was used to wearing this sort of garment anyway. He frowned at Lingormr's words. "From what I understand, I'll require more than just some shelter to heal from these injuries." As for the cause, he wasn't opposed to talking about it. The least he could do was offer the man some information after what he'd done. "Last night I made an attempt to reach the town at the bottom of the hill. A friend of mine was with me, and he was able to--" He paused for a moment. What was the term?

"...Hotwire a bus," he continued once it came to him. "We were in the process of driving down when we were attacked by a group of creatures, and they managed to turn the bus over." He thought the rest would be obvious, and so he finished there.

[teabastard]

Prussia had never shown up.

This worried England for a number of reasons. Even if Prussia was hardly the most reliable of countries (but he himself was hardly called 'Perfidious Albion' for nothing), or the best at time keeping, he never missed an opportunity to gloat or do something that would better his own situation. Last night should have given him opportunity for both, and yet he had never appeared.

England promised himself that it was only annoyance at the lost time. He hadn't been able to do anything. But there was that niggling worry in the back of his mind, even as he was led into the Sun Room.

[Free.]

[fai_d_flourite]

It'd been quiet for once, eating breakfast by himself. Yuui let his nurse escort him to the next room, taking a moment to glance at the bulletin before he sought out a seat or a potential playmate. Tsubaki was alright, as was Chise, both good to know. He glanced about the room and found most of the patients were already chatting or otherwise occupied, leaving only a few left to play with. And if he didn't find someone soon, someone would eventually find him. A confrontation he was hoping to avoid at all costs.

One of the nurses was just leading a blond man with bushy eyebrows into the room and there seemed no better opportunity. He'd seen the man before, he was sure; most of the residents were familiar, if only in a vague sort of way. He made little attempt to be subtle, and reached out a hand to the other man.

"I don't think we've met. Would you mind some company?"

[brb_burgers]

When it came right down to it he didn't mind the sun room so much. It was sunny, roomy and a lot of people were there. If he weren't always being shuffled from one place to another he might feel like he had all the free time in the world to enjoy himself. But then, he never did like the rigid structure of someone else telling him what to do. It was okay for a little while but not-- not for extended periods of time.

That and his conversation this morning had been really kind of... refreshing in ways he hadn't expected it to be. Ramona was definitely a gal he wasn't going to forget, not that it would be easy to with her brilliant hair. But now was the next shift and they'd been escorted apart. So now he was left to his own devices to entertain himself since he couldn't really spot anyone to chat with. What better to do than lounge around and people watch? Or stare out the window longingly, which was really just a ruse for trying to map this place in his head so he knew where to escape to.

[For Claire ooc: apologies for the late start]

[railroadmenace]

[WOW you're totally fine, dude :Db ]

Miss Celty had actually been nice conversation during breakfast. Which meant that, by the time the meal shift had ended and his nurse had come by to pick him up, warning him against any new trouble he should cause, Claire was in a better mood than before. But not quite a good enough mood to keep from ignoring his nurse's directions. In the end, she gave up and left him on his own in the Sun Room. Other people had stayed inside as well, see! And he didn't feel like going outside right now.

But after the momentary feeling of victory against his nurse, he was confronted again by the boredom that was the weird pretend-hospital game they played during the day. Claire liked games; games were entertaining. But after getting a taste of what the nighttime had to offer? No comparison! But ahh, it wasn't like he could do anything right now. He'd have to find something else to do while he waited for the day to pass by. Maybe he should take a look at that bulletin board.

But even the bulletin board was failing him today. Nothing interesting! Claire considered posting something, but then decided it was too much effort. Instead he wandered away from the board, wondering if maybe he should have gone outside after all. At least being outside meant he could do some exercises.

As he paced the room, Claire noticed a guy he hadn't talked to before sitting by the window. Why not, right? He was bored. Having a conversation with a random person was much better than, say, deciding to destroy furniture for the heck of it. The nurses probably wouldn't like that very much. So many rules!

He joined the man by the window and found a seat nearby, heaving a sigh as he flopped into the cushioned chair. He hated when there was nothing to do.

"Hey," he said, by way of greeting. "Aren't you bored?"

[timedork]

Breakfast already seemed like it had been ages ago, and yet the Doctor was still reeling from the news about Brainiac 5. There was nothing he could have done—about Brainiac 5, or Buzz, or any of his string of prior roommates—and he knew that, but... But...

He couldn't help but keep wondering. And Buzz—oh, Buzz. He'd meant from the beginning to tell his former roommate's friend in person about his disappearance, but now it felt like more than just a simple want. He had to—it was as simple as that. He hadn't gotten to know Buzz very well—not like he'd known Brainiac 5—but that didn't make his absence any less real. And maybe there was something he could do for Buzz's friend.

The Doctor took up a post at the end of the bulletin board, where he said in his note that he'd wait. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed and gaze gradually unfocusing as his thoughts wandered more and more.

[For Woody ;_;]

[pullstring]

Woody had slept in late. His worry about Mack, about what these people had possible done to him, weighed heavily on his shoulders. In fact, the former toy had barely been able to bring himself to eat much at all, but he'd managed to stuff down a few bites of his English muffin while keeping a sharp eye out for Ippo. His anxiety about Buzz had been such a constant the past several days that, when mixed with his new worries, it almost felt like he'd never get to the bottom of things.

The note from Buzz's roommate, though, changed all of that.

When Woody read his last response in their brief hand-written exchange, his gazed followed after the direction of the drawn arrow. Soon, Woody caught sight of a patient he'd seen in passing here and there, but had never spoken to himself. Was this the guy who wanted to talk to him?

"Um, hello?" Woody greeted as he approached him, his eyes glancing away with uncertainty. "Hi. I'm Woody. Buzz's friend. Were you...the one who wrote that note on the bulletin board, by any chance?"

[doctor_voodoo]

Well wasn't this quite the embarrassment! The Doctor of Shadows himself, blacking out before his appointment with Guybrush was due, then waking up the following afternoon in a confused daze!? This was unbecoming of a professional such as himself! Facilier was sure he had heard Landel's bitter message after dinner was finished, and he was even surer that he had waited in his room for the pirate to arrive. Yet all was shrouded in blackness after, completely devoid of any memories until Facilier was roused from his bed by a nurse. How in the world could he ever function properly if these time skips kept happening?!

And what was worse, Facilier had missed breakfast.

Tired, hungry and grumpy as a snake stuck on an ice block, Facilier kept to himself in the far corner of the Sun Room, his lanky, thin body sat uncoiled on a single couch. He had just read the note from Guybrush on the bulletin board, something which barely lifted his heavy spirits. It was a slight relief to see that Guybrush had missed the appointment as well, taking off some of the embarrassment off Facilier's shoulders. Still, the fact that Facilier had lost the opportunity to receive more supplies and gently pull Guybrush farther into his control was so frustrating--!

A mix between a snarl and a sigh escaped Facilier. It was a good thing the cats roaming the Sun Room had kept a distance from the Doctor, or he'd be busying himself with how far he can send one of them flying from a well-placed kick.

[For Japan~]

sorry for the late! I was gone most of the weekend /sob

[osoreirimasu]

How...? Japan woke up blearily and was shuffled off to the Sun Room before he had a chance to understand what was going on. His last memories were even fuzzy, meaning something must have happened to him. He just...didn't remember what. Had he been poisoned? He felt his forehead and realized he had no temperature. It couldn't be an economic downturn, or he'd feel something. And merely sleeping in? He was too old to do such a thing now. In fact, he--

"Mr. Honda? You should have a seat. You're looking pale."

"...?" Pale? He looked at his hands and frowned. He was always pale, however. It came with staying indoors for so long and--

"Really. Mr. Honda, I must insist you sit down."

"...If you insist," he said with a sigh, shuffling off to a corner of the room to find somewhere to sit. There weren't many seats left and the one that seemed the most comfortable was taken up by a lanky looking foreigner with a significantly unhappy face. Japan stopped, tilting his head to one side. Did he want to interrupt the stranger's unhappiness or should he simply walk the other way? He wasn't sure, but somewhere in that uncertainty, he found himself drawing closer and closer - until he was standing next to the couch, still looking at the man with a puzzled expression.

"...Are you alright?" he asked quietly, unsure whether the other wanted to talk or not.

[idolism]

Aidou had never considered himself an overly guarded person before. Of course, there was the innate prudence involved in vampire and human relations, and as an aristocrat Aidou had to keep himself reserved at times, but his dealings with Aigis had reminded him just how different the Institute was. Here, he wasn’t just a vampire; neither was he just a noble. He was also… one of them, one of many prisoners.

It was a little strange to realize how far inside himself he had retreated in the process of protecting himself from that reality. In less than two months, he had become… so avoidant. It was quite unlike himself, if he stopped to think about it.

Understandable, given the circumstances, but still unlike himself.

Loneliness and some mild paranoia were the trade-offs to dealing with the prisoner population as he had been, and both were uncomfortable. Which was perhaps why day had arrived and Aidou still had not completely shaken off his unease over what had transpired the night before. With a full stomach he was much more clear-headed, but there was still a shadow on his thoughts that he couldn’t banish.

Things working in his favor should have meant he could rest easy, and yet…

From his position on one of the Sun Room couches, Aidou pulled his legs and wrapped his arms around them so that he could rest his chin on a knee. Anger, he could choke down, as with the many other resentful feelings he felt being a prisoner. But this was something different, something he hadn’t felt in a while. It might have been guilt, and a tiny bit of self-doubt.