Day 62: Breakfast

[baniichan]

A misplaced sense of familiarity met Barnaby the moment he opened his eyes, and the sight of the blank, white ceiling from yesterday morning greeted him. After rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, Barnaby sat up and felt around for his glasses. Had he blacked out again and wasted an entire night? Where was Kotetsu? And what had become of the man who had seemingly vanished before his very eyes at the end of dinner?

Once Barnaby slipped his frames onto his face, the world came into clearer focus, even if he didn’t get any answers out of it. He was in his room, and someone had apparently stripped him out of his street clothes in favor of the hideous hospital pajamas. Barnaby wasn't sure what he found more offensive -- that someone here had once again touched his things without his permission, or that he’d been undressed while unconscious for the second time since his arrival.

The thought made his skin crawl.

Just as he looked over to find a lump in the bed next to him, though, his assigned nurse came to retrieve him. He would have to confirm Klavier Gavin's whereabouts later. For now, he had no choice but to allow the nurse to escort him into the cafeteria. Strangely, she seemed to be under the impression that he and the other patients had slept soundly the whole night. While he might have assumed it was an act, Barnaby got the feeling that she genuinely believed what she was saying.

Regardless of her intentions, he knew she wasn't going to be any help. Instead of trying to ask her anymore questions, Barnaby left a note on the bulletin board concerning his roommate. If his observations from yesterday were any indication, he'd get some responses, at least. While he could have taken the time to leave something for Kotetsu, Barnaby didn't feel inclined to do so, especially when he knew he probably wouldn't check the board anyway.

He had no appetite this morning, but his nurse wouldn't leave him alone until she'd assembled a tray of fresh, fluffy pancakes for him. Honestly, Barnaby didn't see why some people felt the need to butt into his personal choices like this. At least there wasn't anyone forcing him to eat -- for now, at any rate. He sat down at an empty table close to the wall after setting his food down, privately hoping that she wouldn't try to find a "friend" for him to eat with this morning. He was tucked out of the way, so maybe she would forget about him for a few minutes as long as he didn't draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

Hands neatly clasped on the table, Barnaby didn't look at anyone in particular as patients filtered into the cafeteria for their morning meal. There were too many questions buzzing in his mind for him to focus on the names and faces of people he didn't care about. If Kotetsu wanted to find him, he could. It wasn't like Barnaby was going anywhere.

[For Kotetsu.]

Comments

[envy_the_sinners]

"I guess that's a fair statement." Scar took a bite of his pancakes. It had been a rough night. Suddenly, he remembered something: the picture. His hand shot into his pocket, only to find that it was no longer there. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved.

"And from what I've heard, you have a point. There doesn't seem to be." That reminded him- Lust's hand. Hopefully it hadn't gotten worse. Whatever that ghost child was, it certainly wasn't natural.

[kings_thief]

Locke noticed the sudden movement but decided not to pry, he had no reason to. Instead, he returned his attention to the food, returning to poking at it instead of eating it, and shrugged. As down as he still felt about his own night, Locke felt this guy might do better with some of the hope Locke still held onto rather than his lowered confidence.

"Still...can't loose hope, right? As difficult as things can get, anything new learned is better than nothing. Especially if it's anything new about this place." Any knowledge was better than no knowledge.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar raised his eyebrows slightly.

"That's pretty optimistic." Now his eyes narrowed. "It seems the more I learn about this damned hospital, the less I want to know."

[kings_thief]

"I try. What am I supposed to do if I can't keep hope? there'd be no reason to keep fighting." Plus, if it helped others to keep hope...

"How long have you been here? It's not a pleasant place, there's no telling how many skeletons they've got in their closets here." Hopefully, more figurative than literal.

[envy_the_sinners]

"It's easier when you have something to hope for," Scar grumbled. Technically, he didn't know what his 'discovery' in the possessions room last night even meant, yet, but... He certainly didn't trust it. Not completely.

"This is my second day. And no, it's definitely not pleasant."

[kings_thief]

"And I thought I was new. Sorry to tell you, it doesn't really get any easier. But...I don't think that's any reason to not have hope. I mean, there's the hope of going home, I think everyone's got that. If we can find a way out, then we could go home. I know I'd like to find a way out, if not for myself than for my friends."

No one deserved to stay trapped here but he definitely wanted to see Edgar, Tolten, and Terra free.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar gave a quiet, humorless laugh. Go home. He wondered what would happen, should the world discover that the Beast of Ishbal had miraculously survived the blast in Lior.

"I don't have a home to go home to," he grumbled. "And even if I did, I would only be awaiting a death sentence. I shouldn't even be alive."

[kings_thief]

Foot-in-mouth syndrome. That was an old friend. Someday, he'd find a cure for that one, for now his brain scrabbled to try and find something less inadvertently rude to say.

"There has to be something to keep hope for...otherwise, what's the point in fighting this place?" As much as he believed that to be true, the treasure hunter wasn't so sure he'd accomplished his 'less rude' goal.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar knew that the guy wasn't trying to be insensitive. It was just quite difficult to talk about anything and not hit some sort of nerve with Scar.

"Keeping hope only leads to disappointment." A lifetime of experience had led Scar to that one, unpleasant truth.