Day 61: Greenhouse

[dualistic]

While Harvey never really enjoyed having to babysit one of the newer patients, he had to admit that Barnaby had been pretty easy to deal with. He'd been composed, quiet, and focused, which was a lot better than some of the other patients who only gave confused looks or had over-the-top reactions to everything they heard.

The point was, that conversation had almost been enjoyable, which was strange for Harvey to admit. He didn't know how Barnaby was going to manage in this place in the long run, but he wouldn't be surprised if he found his feet eventually and then did decently well for himself. It wasn't Harvey's job to care either way, but the close quarters they were kept in meant he'd probably end up finding out anyway.

Unfortunately, a positive note could only last for so long. As usual, it was a nurse who ruined it by insisting that he should go to the greenhouse for the last shift of the day. "Mr. Eckhart, it's not cold in there, so it shouldn't be any strain on you. It might be nice to help something grow, don't you think?"

He didn't dignify any of that with a response and instead resigned himself to his fate. He was one of the first people to make it into the muggy greenhouse, and he realized that he wasn't a fan of being cold or being hot. He fanned the air in front of his face for a few seconds and then went to find somewhere to sit down.

All the plants were lined up in pots; it almost felt like they were staring at him, waiting for him to do something about it. Well, that wasn't gonna happen.

[For Peter Parker.]

Comments

[inherited]

The future ... He wasn't sure how this place ranked in comparison to the world he came from. All of the worlds he visited seemed to have different approaches to things, but Riku's perception of "past" or "future" was a little skewed. On top of that, the arrival of Terra a few days ago showed that time was iffy at best when it came to the institute. He still wished he was able to pin down why, exactly, but it seemed to mean that a lot of things were temporarily in stasis. Then again, maybe that was part of why Terra never came back to the Islands. He couldn't because of this place. Riku couldn't say for sure.

Either way, that wasn't a conversation he wanted to have. The nature of time wasn't something that he could worry about. What was here, now, and before him was a big enough mystery that adding in additional elements would just confuse it.

So he just shook his head after his pause. "Do you even care? Be honest."

[purgatio]

That was an interesting reply. Albedo grinned openly, swinging his feet once under the bench. "A complicated question and very simple. I'm sure you've determined that I'm selfish beyond all else, and that's more or less correct. I don't care about any but the ones that I should. So it's not that I dislike you or am apathetic towards your well-being. You just don't deserve my care."

Said with a smile, and he blinked slowly before going on. "It's a simple relationship in that, really. We can either ignore each other or mutually use each other. Whichever you prefer. You're a capable person, and interesting. I'm sure we could be useful to one another." Despite the irregularity of the words, Albedo was basically sincere. He cared nothing for the one in front of him, but he also believed that Riku was useful. Useful enough that Albedo was being straight out instead of playing games. There was no reason to manipulate one who could balance a bit more than the rest.

And besides that, it wasn't being seen as one-sided. His associations here as well as Nigredo's influence made Albedo fond of exchanges. They were fun, and Albedo had more than enough to offer to any table, really. As much as he didn't care about this place, he hadn't simply been biding his time. "Otherwise~" the boy added, swinging his feet again. "I could just be being pleasant." A beat and an angle of his eyes accompanied the grin showing it was a joke. "Hello, darling~ How is your day?"

[inherited]

A mutual situation of using one another wasn't one that Riku was altogether unfamiliar with. It was what Xehanort's Heartless originally proposed before it became abundantly clear that the only relationship there was the one where Riku's heart was meant to be overwhelmed, covered in Darkness. And then there was Ansem the Wise, previously known as DiZ, who found him lurking in the Darkness, uncertain about what direction to take after he had originally decided. In both situations, Riku had made his mistakes; now that he was here with his friends, he knew that he needed to be cautious. He cast a glance in the direction of where Sora was cheerfully speaking to someone. Sora was good, but, perhaps, what he needed to set things in the right direction was something like this. At least this time, Riku knew himself enough to be able to keep the upper hand.

"Last I checked," he began, "I don't make that great of a 'darling'." He smirked in Albedo's direction. "But in terms of dependability, I've got that covered." That was his way of agreeing that they could use one another, and he assumed that Albedo would take the hint. Maybe he found the guy a bit lacking in areas, but that was always going to be the case. Only certain people earned that pedestal from Riku, and it was unlikely to be anyone trapped here.

"I'm supposed to be working with my friend's club. But we're just doing boring fetch missions. We need something new."

[purgatio]

[ sorry for the lag ]

The smirk was but charming. Albedo batted his eyes. "How convenient. I'm not one to woo over strangers." His own blood, perhaps, but not something like this. Albedo wasn't anything close to an idiot. The easy banter was an acknowledgment of sorts. For the time being at the very least. The boy reclined back, putting his weight on his hands. "Good to know, however. I'll keep that in mind."

Whether for the flirtation or the dependability, that was left up to the other. "The Arts and Crafts one. That has changed hands a few times." Something of a casual remark as Albedo's mind backtracked. He was not Nigredo by any means, but he could recall things put to mind. Riku was Sora's friend, the hopeful boy that had likely been warned against Albedo from one of his brothers. And Sora was the current head of the Arts and Crafts Club, and they focused on mainly exploring the surroundings and supply gathering. Wasn't too different than anything else, really, but the way it was went about spoke of a kind of tedium.

"What kind of thing are you interested in, then?" he questioned, tone lacking the humor in it prior. From meeting with his brother and going over those notes that person had given him, Albedo currently held a bit more in the way of facts. That, placed with his own revelations, made his offer genuine. At the moment, he lacked a wanting. So he would at least give to this one in the meantime.

A give and take. Something of that sort.