complicatedliar: (suit profile)
Loki ([personal profile] complicatedliar) wrote in [community profile] damned_institute2012-03-03 05:54 pm

Day 62: Sun Room (Second Shift)

The line of questioning that Rita had begun at breakfast still plagued Loki, as did his own uncomfortable feelings about the entire concept of people being transformed into monsters. It wasn't a useful line of thought, and he needed a better direction to consider.

Hopefully, conversation with Soma would provide that. While she seemed quite stern at times, Loki found her presence oddly relaxing.

Though he had to wonder if perhaps he wouldn't end up seeing her this shift after all, since she might be included in the group that was being herded to the showers. (As much as the statement also was one he greeted with relief, since he was wondering when he'd get an opportunity to bathe. The thought of being trapped in a building with a great many mortals and no bathing facilities had been too horrifying to contemplate.) He'd always been a bit bad at guessing the ages of mortals, mostly because they were so ridiculously short-lived.

Having already established a neurotic fear of the cold with his nurse, there was no difficulty convincing her that he'd be much better off in the Sun Room. Loki settled into his habitual seat, taking a moment to coax one of the cats into his lap. All settled in, he propped his notebook on the arm of the chair and went back to writing.

[Soma?]
madeinthehrl: (lost in thought)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-05 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Soma shook her head. "He didn't keep me waiting that long. It's just that time can be a little unpredictable at night. What seems like hours for one team can be a few minutes for someone else. It isn't anything you can predict. The best we can do is try not to blame anyone or get frustrated when it happens."

She produced a pen and drew a small stick figure beside each of the mobile suits to indicate the scale. "These are the ones I flew--the Taozi and the GN-X. They're both about nineteen meters high. The cockpit's located in the chest, and once you get used to the controls, they can mimic human movement fairly easily."

She nodded in response to Lingormr's question. "I moved there a few months ago. I was going to stay in the barracks, but my commanding officer offered to let me move in with him."
madeinthehrl: (smile)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-05 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Soma nodded. "I've had more than a few rough nights myself. It's probably Landel's fault as usual, and if it is, annoying us is almost definitely his motive, so the best thing to do is to keep fighting back."

She smiled then, a full smile that touched her eyes. "I flew. The GN-X in particular was like nothing I've ever flown before. It could turn on a dime, it responded to the faintest touch, it kept up with my reflexes..." She'd taken on a Gundam and won in that suit, and if she reached back, the thrill of it was still there. The taste of victory. "I'm happy the war is over, but flying that mobile suit is something I'll miss."

And if Landel had any sense, if he wanted her to even consider fighting someone else's war, he'd give it back to her.

"It is." She refused to use the past tense there. "It's a little difficult adjusting to civilian life, but I'm enjoying it."
madeinthehrl: (of angels)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-06 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
"I've never ridden a horse before." Or met one, before she came here. "It must be very different to have a living, breathing animal carrying you. What is it like?"

Soma had to stop and ponder Lingormr's question for a moment. A house was a house. "It's...spacious. And comfortable. It's decorated in warm colors, browns and greens. The walls are lined with wood paneling. There's a living room with a stone fireplace and a television--that's a device that lets you watch images from far away. And sofas, like these, except green."

She smiled a little. "It's a little difficult to describe. It felt like home, though. And it smelled like tea."
madeinthehrl: (reluctance)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-06 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
Soma supposed she could understand what he meant. Mobile suits weren't sentient, but there was that same feeling of unity as it moved with you, as you cut through the sky.

"There's a horse in the town near here," she said suddenly. "They'll be taking us there this weekend. Maybe we'll be able to talk the pet shop owner into letting us ride her. She's only an old mare, though, so I don't think we'll be doing any flying."

Again, there was that prick of guilt as Lingormr listened closely. "It doesn't seem right to say so much about my home when you've had such trouble with yours," she confessed. "But if we can find some way to reverse the technology that brought us here, we'll be able to travel between worlds, too."
madeinthehrl: (imperfect)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-06 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Soma smiled back. "I look forward to it."

She had to admit she was looking forward to the trip itself, too. Any excuse to get out of the institute was a good one, and she hadn't been getting enough fresh air lately.

"It isn't that odd," she added. "There are other people here who don't have anywhere to go. I had a friend here who didn't really exist anymore in her world--I didn't understand the specifics that well, but she didn't think she'd be able to return, either."

And then Senna had given in. No, she hadn't given in--she'd been brainwashed. But at least Soma knew what had happened to her, however cold that comfort was.
madeinthehrl: (lost in thought)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-07 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
Her smile faded. "It's all right. I'll get her back."

You could break out of their brainwashing. They'd done it here. That meant there had to be some kind of antidote. Senna, and all of the people they posted about when the visitors came around...they could be saved. She had to believe that.

Soma brightened a little when Lingormr pulled out a few more sketches. It was good to get her mind off of...everything that had happened recently. She couldn't dwell on it forever, even if it was a good motivator. "Is one of these your horse? Which one is it?"
madeinthehrl: (what do you mean)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-07 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"Only vaguely." Soma hesitated. This was also something Lingormr had to know about, but there was no easy way for her to say it. "You remember I told you about the people who visit us? Sometimes they're patients who've disappeared. They're the real thing, as far as we can tell, but they believe they're who the staff says they are. People who belong in this world, with real lives outside of the institute."

She shook her head. "We don't know where they're being kept. They could be anywhere on this planet. But if they're still here, it means they can be saved."

The horse in Lingormr's sketch definitely looked different from the run-down mare in Doyleton. Soma indicated the lighter horse, her expression curious. "Whose is that one?"
madeinthehrl: (reluctance)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-08 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
Soma nodded. "It's just something that keeps me moving, sometimes. Once we break out of here, I feel like anything else will be relatively straightforward in comparison. That includes finding her."

Of course, that was probably tempting the laws of the universe. But she'd burn that bridge when she came to it.

"Oh," she said quietly. She very nearly added that she hadn't thought Lingormr had had any friends back home, but she held her tongue. He'd said 'former,' after all, and that meant his friend, whoever he or she was, was either dead or not his friend anymore. Curiosity rose at the thought. If he didn't want to talk about it, he was more than capable of turning down her question. "What happened?"
madeinthehrl: (a little bit wrong)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-09 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
Soma was quiet for a long moment.

At first, she wasn't sure what to think. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Lingormr hadn't told her right off the bat. Marie had sensed that he'd been keeping something back, but she'd assumed that was just his not wanting to talk about his past.

But, she reasoned with herself, he'd said he'd been raised in a culture where being a warrior was the norm. She supposed she could understand why he'd think he'd have to hide it here, too. Besides, he'd already told her magic existed in his world. She could have made the connection herself.

She couldn't deny the curiosity that sprang up when he mentioned his brother, though. It sounded like there was more than a little bad blood between them. Was this part of the reason why he had tried to kill himself? She didn't feel right asking. It seemed like she'd pried enough for today, anyway.

"I appreciate your honesty," she said at last. "What sorts of things could you do? If you had your powers back, I mean."
madeinthehrl: (what do you mean)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-09 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
That...was unexpected. The image Soma had built up was that of a mild-mannered scholar who had dabbled in magic. Lingormr didn't look much older than she was, after all. He was certainly intelligent, but to possess that much power...

Maybe this was what Sora had meant. Magic existed in his world, after all. Was it possible that he had sensed something she hadn't? Was it also why Lingormr's village had rejected him? Was it fear, rather than some sort of simple misunderstanding?

"So you could get us all home if your powers were back," she said quietly, more as something to say while she processed her thoughts. Why hadn't he told her sooner? It was true, his magic had been sealed away, and there was a certain stigma associated with magicians in his world, but they were all on the same side here. Or tried to be, anyway.
madeinthehrl: (a little bit wrong)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-10 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
"You're not a monster," Soma said firmly. It was just as much for her own benefit as for his. He'd been nothing but kind to her thus far, no matter how suspicious Riku might have found him. It would behoove her to remember that. She might pride herself on being a fighter, but she wasn't going to be the same as his village. She was certain of that.

She paused for a moment. "You...didn't hurt anyone, did you?"

But he couldn't have. Besides-- "You've been more quick to offer your aid than I've ever been, and you've only been here a few days. I mean..." She rifled through the pages he'd given her until she came to the runes. "Look at this. You're helping already."
madeinthehrl: (reluctance)

[personal profile] madeinthehrl 2012-03-11 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
So he had hurt people, as far as she was concerned. There was clearly more to his story about leaving his village than she'd initially thought. It made sense, considering she'd only heard his side of the story, but it was still disappointing.

But he didn't seem like he was hiding anything from her now. And he was telling the truth, and he at least seemed to be expressing regret for his actions. Besides, given the stigma against magicians in his society, he could very well have been acting in self-defense. And he did seem like he wanted to help out here.

She didn't quite smile back, but she shook her head. "You can prove yourself here. There are plenty of magic users in the institute. We're all in this together, and it seems narrow-minded and stupid to turn someone away because they have unusual powers."

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