Dayshift 62: Sun Room [Third Shift]

[avengingfists]

Last night had been a nightmare. That had to be what it was, but Ilia couldn't deny reality. In her anguish, Ilia had slept through the first half of the day plagued by nightmares. In her dreams she saw Rose's broken body all over again with Gamzee standing over her, his club raised to strike again. Somewhere, she could hear Martin Landel laughing.

Much like the battle last night, Ilia was overcome by her powerlessness. Was she really so useless? Why did it have to be the children who suffered pain and death? Why was she left alive here? She didn't wish for her own death, but if she could have given up her life to save Rose... But nothing could be done now

Ilia had failed to save an ally in need. If only her Captain could have been here, then just maybe his uncanny luck and drive might have saved them. He had a miraculous touch that could solve anything. Ilia now understood why she would never be on equal footing with him.

Miserably, Ilia roused herself at her nurse's insistence that she come eat. She didn't take a moment to brush her hair or wash her face. She just followed along as directed, trying to ignore the hallow feeling in her chest. Ilia wasn't hungry, but she took one of the bags offered to her and trudged to the bulletin. She addressed a few notes then added one herself. It wasn't the prettiest note, but Ilia couldn't produce the level of prose that Rose deserved. Instead, she wrote it quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. Short. To the point.

Her task done, Ilia found seat in the corner and sunk down into the cushion. Burying her face in her hands, she concentrated on breathing. She couldn't face the sun today.

[For her children Claude and Anise]

Comments

[complicatedliar]

Loki collected his lunch - he wasn't certain what peanut butter was, but it seemed worth a try compared to the other choices - and retreated to the Sun Room once again.

There were equations he could work on. There were always equations he could work on, which was just part of what kept life worth living. But he was tempted to begin working on new sketches. Not really because he thought he'd better himself as an artist, he'd always been indifferent at that sort of creativity, but more because he'd found sharing those little sketches with Soma strangely... fun.

Though the challenge was coming up with little pieces of his life he remembered well enough to draw that wouldn't also be in opposition to the lie he'd spun. Loki had never been one to shy from a challenge, however. That was just another thing that kept life interesting.

As he considered this new diversion, he took a bite of his sandwich. The flavor was... and the stickiness... and...

Loki carefully pried the bread apart and inspected the contents, his expression one of utter, heartbreaking dismay.

[Kairi! :D]

[stranded]

"Is there something wrong with your sandwich?"

Kairi knew asking a man she had never met before such a silly question, but she truthfully cannot help herself. He looked so disgruntled as he checked the inside of the sandwich that it made her giggle.

And yet, even as she looked at him, the redhead knew there was something ... about him, but she couldn't place her finger on it. He looked familiar. Perhaps she had seen him around the hallways.

Kairi moved towards the man then, smiling. "My name's Kairi. I didn't mean to interrupt, it's just that ... well, you looked rather confused," she lets out a small laugh. "And I do not believe we have met before, and I am always interested in meeting new people."

[gald_digger]

Talking with Snow helped to cheer Anise up a bit, but the anxiety was far from gone. The moment she was alone again, it came back in full force. Dreading the worst, Anise stopped by the bulletin once more...

And then she found it. A message from Ilia! Her handwriting was unusually unsteady, but it was her. There was no mistake. Immediately, Anise felt a wave of relief... and then a twinge of guilt as she remembered that Ilia's survival meant the death of one of her companions. Even if she was safe, she was probably far from okay. Just like Anise was.

At some point, Ilia had to have come through the Sun Room while Anise was occupied with her conversation. Anise glanced around frantically, hoping there was still some sign of her... and there it was: a head of blonde hair ducking into a corner. Anise hurried over. She found her there, with her face buried in her hands. Having been in a similar position, she had a feeling she understood what Ilia was going through, even if she couldn't know any of the details.

“Um... Ilia...” she began, speaking softly and cautiously. As soon as she opened her mouth, Anise realized she didn't really know what she ought to say. She drew a little closer, trying to gauge whether Ilia would rather have a shoulder to lean on, or some space to herself. “... Do you want to talk?”

[avengingfists]

Hearing that small, familiar voice, Ilia looked up. Through bleary eyes she could make out the familiar shape of Anise. Her first real friend here. Another child.

"Anise..." Ilia's voice was low and gravelly. She swallowed down the thickness in her throat and opened her mouth again, but nothing more came out.

She didn't ask for permission or give any indication of her intentions, really. Before she knew it, Ilia was moving to wrap her arms around the young girl. She didn't think Anise would protest much, seeing as she had already gone through what Ilia had the night before. Thinking about that, imagining Anise as the one in the arena fighting for her life caused Ilia's fists to clench into the material of Anise's institute uniform.

Breathing a shaky breath, her face half-buried in Anise's shoulder, Ilia finally managed two more words. "... 'm sorry."

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar definitely liked the idea of coming back inside. Despite what the intercom said, the weather was not 'beautiful.' It was freezing.

The slight headache from earlier had yet to go away. Maybe lunch would help. With a frown on his face, the Ishbalan sank into the same chair as yesterday. Hopefully that infuriating young man from yesterday didn't show up and bother him again.

Starting to pick at his lunch, he tried to relax.

[scarefaux]

While he felt his conversation with Lust had gone well, the Scarecrow couldn't shake... well, the shakes that were coming and going throughout his body. Though the chilly air felt good against his skin after a while, the nurse insisted he looked pale and should go inside. As much as he wanted to enjoy the snow more while there was still daylight, he complied to her request for the second shift in a row, deciding that he might be able to find Depth Charge if he headed indoors.

Handed a sack lunch, he headed for the Sun Room, thinking the common area might be a good place to spot his seemingly missing roommate. Unfortunately, not only was Depth Charge nowhere to be seen, but the Scarecrow was starting to think his nurse might've been right when she said he didn't look well. He didn't feel well at all, but wasn't sure what could be the problem. Perhaps he hadn't eaten something quite right, or hadn't gotten the rest he needed. It was hard to tell when one's body was foreign territory.

Hoping to keep an eye on the door, the Scarecrow had headed for the wall to sit and enjoy his meal; however, the nurse encouraged him to sit near "Mr. Matthews," pointing out a lone patient as she continued to say that the man could use some cheerful conversation, which she expected the Scarecrow could give him. While he still didn't feel well, he didn't argue, giving the nurse a nod as he made his way over to the aforementioned patient and had a seat on the floor with his bag.

"How do you do?" he asked politely. "I don't expect your name is Mr. Matthews, as the nurse said, now is it?"

[dividedby]

Zero had spent almost the entirety of second shift in quiet contemplation. ...And pain, but he was doing his best to ignore that.

He'd tried to be out in the Courtyard, but the cold temperature and his aching body wouldn't tolerate that for longer than five minutes. (Nor did his nurse, overly concerned as she was.) Back inside he'd gone, and it was where he still was, reclining on a couch and feeling quite miserable.

The only thing of worth he'd done so far today was write some notes over the bulletin board, and that had only brought him more pain. Not physical - thankfully, he had no trouble using his left hand to write as a human. It was emotional, for he'd been informed of Ema Skye's disappearance, whatever the cause might be. She...he only hoped nothing bad had happened to her, that she had somehow escaped or been 'sent home' like the staff claimed she'd been. As foolishly optimistic as such a thought might be. That girl was way too young to fall victim to something like...what had happened to Zex last night. Terrible...

But Zero forced himself not to think too hard about it. He knew it would only hurt worse to consider all the possibilities. She was gone. That's all. All he could do now was lend support to her older sister, as much as he could. And to keep fighting Landel, for Ema's sake...

For now...the next shift. If it weren't for the fact that he was in such poor condition right now (and that he had already told Nigredo to meet him in this room), he would have scrambled for the chance to go back out to the Recreational Field. Even the Greenhouse sounded like a tolerable option. But no, he was forced to lie around all day recovering thanks to his own foolishness. He hated being useless like this...

At least he could learn some more useful information from Nigredo, whenever he came around. Zero kept an eye out for the boy, but otherwise didn't budge from his spot. He'd been given his lunch, but he wasn't touching it. He didn't have the appetite right now.

[Nigredo!]

[atrabilis]

For the death of another, he awoke with a light fever and heart palpitations. The paroxysms caused in the process of death had vanished in their entirety. There was nothing on him to suggest an invisible hand had cut through his stomach the night before. No blood, no stomach acid. No scars torn into his flesh. A careful study revealed the loss of injuries incurred in the past weeks. For all intents and purposes, aside from a few exceptions, Nigredo had been made perfectly whole.

And the price incurred--

His waveform reached for his remaining connection, to find Albedo's muted and obscure. The obvious questions arose, but Nigredo left the matter alone. There was nothing more to be done. For now, until time marched ahead in the form of meetings, he willed himself to still. To freeze the flow of memories.

It proved to be an easy feat, mostly thanks to his nurse. The child was carted off to the Sun Room upon his awakening, forced to subsist on squabbles and stagnant air. Fortunately for him, the sunlight drowned out his surroundings while the bulletin provided distractions. And it was here that he found a message, addressed solely to him.

At the start of lunch, Nigredo watched for the Reploid. He found him soon enough, but the sight proved to be a disconcerting aspect, for reasons more obscure than he was willing to admit. The boy approached Zero, his motions more subdued than their previous exchange. "Hey, are you all right?"

[diamondstorm]

The day passed quickly, enough for half of it to have passed without the Digimon's notice. When the sun room was given as an option, Renamon took it, settling into a couch nearby after a perfunctorily glance at the bulletin board. It was as if, after the military left, all development had returned to stagnation. The clues and information learned had trickled back down to almost nonexistent, and the information listed was very much the same as it had been before.

There was still a remaining focus of half-hearted hope. The rings in her possession allowed for new tactics to be offered, but only if there were facts to pull from. She frowned lightly to herself, pulling the page she had copied from Castiel out to look at. There were details here, but with those people as well as the military gone, there was no way to learn more. One thing could be said of the military-- It was far easier to communicate with them compared to Landel safe in his untouchable tower.

[ Tear ]

[fonichymn]

Two details. Two details from last night and this day were enough to set Tear's heart aflame, enough to make her skin crawl in frustration. She had failed to reach her destination. She had woken hours after dawn. This was no way for a soldier to spend her days and nights, regardless of placement. She could not live with such incompetence, especially if the welfare of civilians relied partly on her.

A small part of her--too afraid to give an ounce of credence--felt afraid. The first sign of a missing patient was the unexplained loss in time. Both Luke and Natalia had disappeared after the fact; Tear had firsthand experience to know this truth. She had no desire to go through it again.

Therefore, when she caught a familiar form in the Sun Room, Tear remembered a near-comforting fact. Renamon was a veteran. Perhaps some answers could be found with her.

She made a beeline for the young woman, stopping within conversation range. "Renamon," called Tear. "Excuse me, but do you have a moment?"

[ofthemotions]

It was his sixth day here. And other than the military's withdrawal and a couple of other irregularities, he couldn't say that much had happened. He had had more contact with Izaya, one he was warned against despite the man's helpful disposition, than anyone else, and had poked around in matters of the patient populace. Though, of the place itself... It was as if any of the disturbing parts seemed to vanish, and it was just a slightly awkward mental institution in truth.

Should he wonder about his own perception? Likely not. His imagination was full, but not to that extent. It was pretty clear, the line between reality and fantasy, even as some of it could cross over. If anything, maybe all of this was a study on the human psyche under strain; that would be interesting, and would explain--

...Ah. Would explain everything except a headless rider with a head again. Mikado frowned to himself, dropping into a couch nearby in thought. If not that, then what? What were the facts he was lacking about this place?

[ free ]

[hasnomeaning]

When the pilot awoke it was to an unhealthy realization. Her memories stopped at entering her room last night. Dinner, the entire night, and the first half of the day had been stripped away from the time she had been allotted, and it was with a shuddering breath that she realized she had been unconscious all of that time once more. Not close to the three days of before, but a time period too long nevertheless.

The weather was declared 'too good to waste' and of the options, she cared for none of them. There were things on Ayanami's mind, and outside stimulus was deemed unneccessary. There was a chair by a couch and she slid into it quietly, thoughts her own.

[ free ]

[fourstonewalls]

Lana stared out at the Sun Room, her lunch bag dangling from one hand. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to run back into the tiny little room she shared with Ilia and slam the door like she was a teenager herself again and not let anyone in or out.

She didn't.

Her roommate was standing in one corner, looking like she might, with the least provocation, be entirely complicit in such a plan. Ilia hanging onto the lapels of a young woman like they were keeping her from drowning. It wasn't anyone Lana knew, though she'd seen the woman around before. Lana watched for a moment, and then turned away. She didn't have that luxury. She let the contrast stiffen her resolve, and, by extension, her posture, one vertebra at a time, until she was every inch the terror of the Prosecutor's Office, even in sweats.

She found an empty armchair and opened up her lunch. Chicken salad -- whether it was luck or her well-honed ability to fake composure, she'd picked up the sandwich she would have actively chosen on a better day. She wasn't that hungry, but she wasn't going to put together anything resembling a good front on an empty stomach, so she unwrapped the sandwich and took out half. A decent compromise.

[Byrne]

[corvus_veritas]

Okay, so staying out in the Courtyard for a whole shift wasn't the best idea in the world when it was as cold as the arctic tundra out there. (...Exaggeration, yes, but it sure felt that way to a man accustomed to Los Angeles weather.) So this shift, Byrne decided it would be nice to relax and warm up a little in the comforts of inside rather than staying outdoors any longer. The Sun Room did have the bulletin board, too, so it had more points for usefulness than any of his other third shift options did.

His time out in the Courtyard hadn't done anything bad or good for his health, unfortunately. His headache was still hanging around and being a pain in the ass, and he still felt quite exhausted for apparently no reason. Did this have anything to do with that 'nasty bug' Landel mentioned over the intercom this morning? Better not. Byrne didn't need to be getting sick now, of all times.

Out of curiosity, he checked the bulletin board for any sign of a note about feeling ill or otherwise, but no one had posted anything of the sort. Just more depressing death notices. And still no response to his note from this morning. Sigh. Not a real mood lifter, was it. But at least he could say social contact from Depth Charge and Fai earlier had distracted him enough to make him feel a little better by this time. That should be his plan right now - finding someone else to carry on conversation with, so he didn't have to think about last night or his roommate's death. He could check the board again later.

As he wandered around the Sun Room looking for a friendly face to spend lunch with, Byrne happened to notice a woman sitting alone who looked oddly...familiar. Like wow, very familiar. He paused and stared, trying to think of who she might be. It took him a moment of thinking, but he finally placed face with name and realized just who he was looking at. Lana Skye. Ah, right, the detective that worked with Detective Gant back home.

Wait, Skye? Oh, oh no. On the board, one of those notices of death or otherwise missing had been for an Ema Skye. Byrne knew little about Lana and even less about who might be related to her, but the name 'Ema' sounded vaguely familiar somehow. Maybe she or Badd had mentioned it before? Anyway, Ema was almost guaranteed to be related to Lana in some fashion by surname, and since she was gone now...obviously not a good thing. Definitely a reason to go talk to Lana, for the same reason Byrne was seeking social contact if nothing else. Distractions sometimes helped, right?

The prosecutor approached her, stopping beside the chair she sat in, and cleared his throat to catch her attention. "Ms. Skye?"

[somesoulsearching]

After a shift without being able to laugh without feeling pain - if not in his head, then through the rest of his body - Brook was hoping that leaving the cold weather would help alleviate the problem. Having a lingering pain from too much laughter heaven forbid! was one thing, but for it to persist...! Brook wondered if there was perhaps another cause.

Was it just the weather? he wondered a bit hopefully. If the weather was the cause, then being inside should help considerably. Maybe some rest as well. Much as he enjoyed cheering up others, it could become somewhat exhausting. On that logic, Brook took a seat to himself for the first time that day, stretching back on a couch before glancing about. "I wonder if they'd allow for some tea in here?"

Tea would have been wonderful. And a blanket if they wouldn't mind. His nurses had been fairly nice thus far, so maybe...

[Badd]

[tasteoftruth]

Badd parted way with Skye for lunch, and when he next saw her in the Sun Room she was talking with Byrne. Whatever it was it probably wasn't anything pleasant...when was there anything pleasant to talk about around here? If it wasn't for Byrne's continuing presence he'd be the one needing to be talked down off the second floor balcony.

Though at least someone looked like he was enjoying himself today. Badd looked down at the man on the couch, forcing himself to stop staring at the back of Byrne's head. "I was planning on holding out for a beer. Tea was never strong enough for my tastes."

[requitedfate]

Shiina had hoped the shower would have helped her to feel better, but that wasn't the case. As soon as she was out of the hot spray from the shower room her muscles had returned to that achy feeling. She was thankful that she didn't have to remain in the steamy room for long. Her head had grown way too hot in that place, making her almost dizzy.

Maybe Landel hadn't been joking about that bug going around. Shiina just didn't understand! She had slept so well all of last night, so how come she had woken up feeling fevered? It was one thing for this place to have no sense of justice, but for logic itself to be casually thrown our the window even during the daytime...

"Maybe eating something will help," Shiina mumbled to herself as she grabbed a tuna salad sandwich baggie. Making her way through the Sun Room, she found a nice spot in the partial sunlight from the great glass ceiling and sat down. She almost immediately felt better save for the heat in her forehead and cheeks.

Trying to beat the bug down with sheer determination, Shiina ignored the burning and started in on her meal. It wasn't the best, but who could be picky when there were so many other problems ahead?

[for the not!boyfriend]

[oneman_onekill]

One second, he'd been almost doubled over, chest heaving, totally out of breath, and the next...well, there it got a little fuzzy. The next thing he remembered, though, was bolting upright in his bed and immediately regretting it.

"Ah--OWWWWW...!" Niikura cursed loudly as his shoulder, now neatly bandaged, protested the sudden movement--loud enough to draw the attention of a nurse.

"Tsuneo!" The woman poked her head in and gave him a disapproving look. "Language!"

"I get shot and ya tell me to watch my mouth? I see how it is," Niikura grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes as he eased himself out of bed. "What time is it? Did I sleep in too late?" He really didn't want her to say he'd missed breakfast and lunch: that would have meant instant heartbreak.

"You're just in time for lunch, dear," the nurse replied sweetly as she handed him a paper bag before marching him out to join the rest of the patient population.

He picked the Sun Room first, conducting his usual careful scan of the board for anything interesting--'Ema Skye is no longer at the Institute'--ah, okay, that was important. He'd have to edit his list later to account for that. Anything else, anything else...nope.

Niikura turned away from the board with a sigh; now it was time to find a seat where he could devour his lunch (and hopefully second lunch if they'd let him have another one) in peace. Thankfully, there was one nearby and right next to Shiina of all people, who was even more important than peace and quiet, considering he hadn't seen her in over twenty-four hours now.

He sat down across from her and opened his bag lunch. "Hey there, Nagasawa." Niikura frowned as he looked at her a little more closely. Under the light, she seemed kind of wan, or maybe that was his overactive imagination. "Ya holdin' up okay? Didn't end up doin' anything crazy last night, did ya?"

[unpriest]

Seishin wordlessly took the lunch bag that was offered to him as he entered the Sun room. He spotted several familiar faces -- among them Silvestri-san. A brief look of concern passed his features, but the former priest ended up moving towards a more secluded part of the Sun room. Two people were already with her. Seishin did not quite know what to tell her, or what to tell Gamzee-kun. He did not know a whole lot, did he? He had answered last night with silent resignation, allowing the wave of misery to simply wash over him and his companions until death had claimed one of them.

So it was by himself that Seishin sat down in a secluded chair, folding his hands on his lap. His mind continued to drift to last night's cruel game, and the lunch bag was destined to be abandoned.

[Celty!]

[tryingtogetahead]

No matter what the announcement said, the Sun did not make it much warmer outside which gave Celty all the more reason to pick an indoor location to have lunch at. She considered looking about a bit more for an area she wasn't so familiar with, but the prospect of a relaxing time in the ever familiar Sun Room comforted her a bit. She headed into the room and followed her usual routine of looking around before picking out a place. Many people were already there, most in small groups, but there was one she somewhat knew off by himself. A man with gray hair, she'd met him at night but not yet during the day.

Maybe she could give a better introduction this time?

She headed over to him, keeping a tight grip on her bag lunch just in case he wasn't in the mood for company and asked her to leave. "Excuse me...?"

[age_of_kings]

The thought of food made Tolten cringe internally, and he set aside his little lunch when he reached the Sun Room. He'd felt this way before - too many long days on foot with little sleep and a multitude of battles between - but it wasn't as though there were any handy inns or kind townsfolk to give him a hot bath and two day's worth of sleep.

Well, he'd force himself to eat and there was always the option of staying in and sleeping. It wasn't as though there were some countdown clock, ticking over his head. He did need to keep his strength up. Bypassing the chicken sandwich, he decided to try some grapes.

And really, he was just achey and nauseated and tired. He'd dealt with far worse in far unkinder circumstances.

[For Sonia!]

[stylebythemile]

Sonia checked the bulletin board for any news about the others. The first thing she noticed was an announcement that someone hadn't made it through the night. She hadn't known them, but... The princess bowed her head slightly. How awful. Did notices like this show up on the board every day?

After reading through the other messages, she finally managed to find the Arts and Crafts notice. Sora was MIA. She hoped he was alright. Maybe the same thing was happening to him that had happened to her yesterday. Could Landel be targeting them?

She kept frowning once she'd proof-read her message. The crackle of the speaker overhead made it hard to think, so it was a good thing it decided to start up then. Looked like there were a few things Landel didn't have in common with Robotnik. For one, Buttnik would never refer to the sun being out as a good thing. If he did, he'd rarely have a reason to celebrate it, because the pollution in Robotropolis usually made it impossible to see it.

That was when Landel mentioned a greenhouse. Sonia's eyes grew wide. It was marked on the map she had in her room. Let's see. The fastest way to get there from here during the day is by following the main hallway to the Medical Wing. Taking the lunch bag from the 'nurse', she started towards the door that led out into the hallway--

Until she saw someone she knew sitting close by.

"Tolten!" she called, her face brightening as she approached him. "I saw your message on the notice board." I'm glad you're okay. She clasped her hands in front of her and offered him a shy but sweet smile. "Do you want to go to the greenhouse with me?"

[monkeyboy]

"Billy--Billy, don't you dare! Billy!" It was hard to scold someone when you didn't want to raise your voice very loud in case the other patients decide to see what exactly you were yelling at. The less people that saw the young boy running through the Sun Room naked, the better, but he was making this all the more difficult for her.

Flitting through the room like a mosquito, he was very hard to pin down while she tried in vain to keep some kind of control and dignity in the face of such absurdity.

Goku, on the other hand, was having a wonderful time, the best day since he could remember. It had begun as a fight to stay clothesless and then he eventually passed the threshold between the bathrooms and the rest of the institute. After that, he ran because he was being chased, simple as that. His destination was the cafeteria, but he didn't get that far. Two white witches blocked the entrance from the Sun Room and third pair of hands finally grabbed him and dragged him back practically kicking and whining.

He emerged minutes later fully clothed and unhappy. A sour frown marred his usually cheerful face as he returned to the rest of the population. Eyes stuck to the carpet, he shuffled slowly through the room until he found a big cushy chair to sit in and fume until he forgot and found something more interesting to awe over.

[Johnny~!]

[not_heavens_adam]

Johnny, for his part, hadn't moved from the couch all during the shift. He was more than happy to take in the sun's light, while he could, and relax. Although, it was hard to ignore when a child dressed in nothing starts running around. It made him laugh and brought back memories of a certain blond little boy who would sometimes escape his bath and make Johnny have to work to get the fur coverings back where they were supposed to be.

This plus the mere presence of a child in a place like this made him decide he needed to go talk to the kid.

Finally getting up and stretching, the vampire made his way to the chair and its moody occupant, crouching down in front of it so they'd be on the same level.

"It's too bad, you almost made it~ I haven't seen them get so riled up all day, good job." He smirked, but his tone was light and amused. "Mind if I ask for your name? Mine's Johnny." It was strange how easy it was to slip back into 'talking with a child mode' considering he hadn't done that in decades.

[madeinthehrl]

Soma grabbed a bag lunch--chicken salad, she noted vaguely--and headed for the Sun Room. Lingormr had already beaten her here. She tossed a quick smile in his general direction and sat down on a vacated sofa.

It felt good to be working during the day. She'd never thought she'd feel this way about so much sitting around and writing, but after so many weeks of feeling like she was running in circles, the idea that they might actually be getting somewhere with all of this information was intoxicating.

Some fresh air would have been nice, but it was best to check in with Rapunzel first. The Sun Room seemed to be the default more often than not, so she supposed she might as well stay here and wait for her friend.

[hairraising]

The fresh air had been nice, as had the conversation with Seishin, but it was definitely still a little chillier out than Rapunzel would have liked. So, regretfully, she opted to head back inside for lunch, accepting the lunch her nurse gave her and looking for a place to sit. And what luck: it turned out that a familiar face was already there.

Rapunzel beamed at the sight of Soma, hurrying over to where her friend sat. "Soma! Hey!" She took a seat next to the older girl, neatly flipping her hair over the back of the couch to keep it out of the way. "You look like you're in a good mood today. Did something happen?"

[rainboompow]

Rainbow had to admit, as grouchy as she had been after waking up and going to shower, she felt a little bit better after she was clean. A little. That's all she was willing to grant Landel's Institute right now. No, she wasn't even going to admit that the prospect of delicious food was kind of enticing. Nope. It was not enticing at all.

(Peanut butter did sound good right now, though.)

Anyway, Rainbow Dash had more important things to worry about than food. She still had to make up for lost time, and since it seemed the only way to get things done during the day was posting on the bulletin board, that was what she intended to do first. Rainbow tromped over to the board and grabbed herself some paper and pen.

She had a clear message in mind: What did I miss last night? Anything awesome?? Are we any closer to beating Landel??? As she pressed the paper up against the wall and put ballpoint to paper, however, that simple message had some trouble flowing out of her pen. While she had been managing all right with grabbing things when she had to, Rainbow was still far from used to human hands and fingers. She could see how humans were supposed to write as she watched others post their notes, but dang it if the writing itself wasn't hard as haybales to pull off. Writing didn't come naturally to pegasi in the first place, for one thing; when Rainbow did have to write things back in Ponyville, she had either gotten someone else do it (a unicorn or Spike, usually) or she had written by mouth. So the whole "by hand" thing was even more foreign to her for that reason, never mind that it was like suddenly having to write with the pen behind a window in another room.

Rainbow took at least a full minute to get out the first sentence written out in any legible way. And it was around the sixth or seventh slip of the pen (and second rip in the page) that Rainbow finally lost her cool. "Ugh! Whatever, forget that," she said to herself. The pen was in her mouth and both hands were planted on the page to hold it steady in one second flat. "'s be'r," she said before resuming writing.

[Snow]

[heroesdontshave]

The talk had been a nice little distraction, but after he and Anise had parted ways, Snow didn't feel much better than before. Not like he felt worse, but not better either. Maybe he really was coming down with something? Man, when was the last time he'd even gotten sick? It didn't happen to him very often. Talk about cruddy timing, catching something right when he needed to be on his toes most.

Welp. A headache was just a headache in the end, right? Not like he was going to let something dumb like being a little sick slow him down. Not a chance! So he continued to ignore his head and his queasy stomach, took his bag thing of local food without even looking in it, and headed over to the note exchange board. Or the 'bulletin board' as they called it here.

He... kind of ignored the thing a lot, he had to admit. But he really shouldn't. What if Light or someone ends up trying to contact him? Or someone puts up something important? He should probably check the thing at least once a day, right? Yeah! So he headed over to the thing, determined to do something productive while he was over there.

...And became completely distracted about two seconds later. It wasn't his fault though, okay?! He couldn't help it! It was... this girl next to him. As soon as he saw her, he couldn't help but gawk a little. He didn't want to stare. Really he didn't. But he couldn't help it! That hair... was pretty incredible. How long did it take her to get it like that? ...Or had it been an accident? Maybe she'd screwed something up in a big hair dye experiment gone wrong. Like hell if he knew. He didn't mess with that stuff.

So yeah, he ended up staring at her for a bit without really meaning to. He watched her trying to right out a note for the 'bulletin board'. She looked like she was having a lot of trouble with it, which he could fully sympathize with. Writing things out by hand with pen and paper was hard. Though it shouldn't have been that hard.

Eventually, she loudly gave up and... shoved the pen in her mouth? Yes, she shoved the pen in her mouth. And she was starting to write with it. From her mouth.

"What're you doing?" he blurted out in confused astonishment before he could think. He looked between her face and the paper, thoroughly baffled. Look... he knew people here did things differently sometimes, but... How exactly was that supposed to make writing any easier?

[ sorry for the massively late tag! ]

[overlimit]

Talking with Lingormr had helped Rita to sort out a few of her thoughts on recent developments, though it hadn't left her feeling any more optimistic. If Landel was going to make good on his threats... they really didn't have much hope.

The mage spent the second shift of the day alone with her thoughts, but when lunchtime came, she remembered she had an appointment to keep. Since she and Edgar had agreed on a time but not a place, the Sun Room was the logical place to meet at.

Rita seated herself in an armchair near the bulletin, where she was sure she'd be plenty visible. There, she opened the lunch bag she was given, and started taking bites out of a peanut butter sandwich produced from inside.

[Edgar]

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar took his sack lunch without question, kicking himself for not having thought to ask Rita where they would meet. Of course, he hadn't known they would be given free reign of certain locations for the meal shift rather than being confined to the mess hall, but that would have been all-too convenient. That in mind, he decided to try the Sun Room first, as it was a central location and one in which the nurse didn't seem opposed to him spending the shift.

Thankfully, his instincts hadn't lead him wrong- one look around the room, and he found Rita easily. "Milady," he greeted as he approached, giving her a polite nod. "My apologies if I kept you waiting."

[ryuuzaki]

L slept late again, far past the first intercom announcement of the morning. The second one made him stir, but not enough; he sank back into a deep, dreamless sleep, drifting to consciousness again some time later.

Without windows or clocks in the room, it was hard to tell exactly what time it might be. The same thing that had happened the previous morning held true, though: there was less obvious activity around the residential corridors than there should have been if it were early, and Orihara was gone, which suggested that breakfast was at least underway.

Thinking about the blank walls and windows, their institutional blandness, gave L a sudden sharp pang of yearning. He wasn't sentimental, but the room he had been sleeping in before his abduction had a wide window with a view of the Tokyo skyline. Once he'd had it to himself again, he'd thrown the curtains open when it was dark, turned off the lights, and looked at the landscape; it was a relaxing way to let his thoughts spin out. But here, the best vantage point for a landscape was on the bus to Doyleton or the top of the wall around the recreational field, and there was nothing he enjoyed about it.

His recent tendency to oversleep worried him. He remembered the rumors that people often began to sleep a lot before they disappeared from the Institute: that in itself didn't bode well. More to the point, though, was the fact that it was contrary to his habits to sleep heavily or rise late. It was hard for him to tell precisely how much he was sleeping at Landel's--he had woken refreshed before breakfast in the past, and although he didn't understand the mechanism of the supposed "compressed sleep cycles," he did cautiously accept that he might have experienced them. If the amount of time they slept between losing consciousness and the morning intercom announcement was usually enough, why had he been sleeping for several hours longer?

As he blinked at the ceiling and prepared to sit up, it became obvious to him why he had overslept: he wasn't feeling well. A little too warm, a creeping ache in his limbs and in his head, and a heavy, tired feeling, as if he could be coming down with a cold. His throat wasn't sore, though, nor did he have a stuffy or runny nose. The idea of staying in the bed had some appeal, but it would cause him to lose a whole day. He could as easily rest in the Sun Room as in bed, but the more public location would allow him to pursue certain avenues of inquiry that would definitely be closed if he sequestered himself in this room. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, then rested for a moment, staring at the floor, with his elbows on his knees and his long hand pressed against his forehead.

The normal incubation period for most minor illnesses, colds and flus and other ailments of that nature, was a week to ten days. His sleep study ten days ago would have made him vulnerable in a general sense to anything that he hadn't already been exposed to at that time, and it had been a week since the arrival of Aguilar and his troops, who'd probably brought new and exciting germs along with them. Beyond those factors, it was hard to pinpoint anything... and unless or until the symptoms developed, it would also be hard to even begin to diagnose himself. A slight fever and its typical accompaniments could mean anything. He was careful to wash his hands before meals, and had been going to considerable effort to keep his fingers away from his mouth when he'd been handling communal objects like the serving utensils in the cafeteria or anything related to the bulletin board... but that clearly hadn't been enough.

For once, it felt good to slip his feet into the slippers. After a moment's consideration, he put one of the sweatshirts on. He wanted a proper cup of tea with lemon, or possibly just some Lemsip, heavily sweetened, but he knew neither was forthcoming. If he hadn't slept through it, he should be able to take a shower in the afternoon. The warm water would probably feel good. If he asked, the nurse might also give him some paracetamol, but he wasn't sure that he needed it, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to trust any medication given in the Institute after the forced injection a few nights earlier. He had found that kind of medication himself upstairs; he could take it without asking for any if he could wait until dinner, when he should have access to it.

The nurse tutted at him when she arrived just as the noon announcement died away, then admitted, as he trailed alongside her down the corridor, that she'd let him sleep past the second announcement because something seemed to be going around. Once they'd reached the Sun Room and he'd washed his hands, he chose a peanut butter sandwich for his lunch. Today's lollipop was cherry-flavored.

He felt faint dizziness and queasiness as he scanned the room to decide where to sit. Going out into the courtyard, as Landel had suggested and as Lunge appeared to be doing, was out of the question: he had no desire at all to be outside. No weather was pleasant to someone who was feeling under it.

He chose the nearest empty seat. Daemon didn't appear to be available; Edgar and Ilia were each engaged in conversation. He didn't know most of the other people in the room, and just at the moment, he didn't feel like making a new acquaintance.

It wasn't until L saw Terra that he attempted to wave someone over.

[Terra!]

[ultimagi]

Sleep, the girl found, was becoming more of a foe than she first suspected. If Edgar was to be believed, it was blacking out times without her being in a position to fall asleep in the first place. If not, then she suspected that whatever caused her amnesia was a recurring anomaly in her body; having already consumed her years, it now picked at her days and hours. It was as though the girl wasn't allowed to have a past, no matter when she made it.

But now, as she woke from some half-addled revenge scheme -- if sleep was going to catch her unawares, then she would face it head-on -- even the sleep she anticipated seemed no friendlier. This time there had been dreams. She could not remember them, not completely, but... somewhere in that short time, images remained. The cut of the military uniform was quite unlike those worn so recently here, but she could recognize it for what it was. Even burned to black threads, its soldier nothing more than charred skin and melted fat and scorched bone.

And laughter. Whose was it? Some person from her past? Or maybe...

Shaken, returning to sleep was definitely not on the girl's itinerary. At least she was still here in the Sun Room, where she'd fallen asleep, and it didn't seem like much time had passed. Surely not the absence of days Edgar claimed? She rose, intending to find anything to take her thoughts away from the fading dream that motion caught the corner of her eye.

Wasn't that...?

Well, he was waving to her, so fortune favored the man being Ryuuzaki. True, she hesitated, but she had no real reason to decline the obvious invitation. The girl took an adjacent chair, scrubbing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Hello..."

Not even her salutation could muster any sense of certainty.

[sarcasmfordummies]

As many times as she'd gone looking for the Doctor in the Library where she'd not found him, Donna decided to take a different approach this time in tracking down the spaceman. The Sun Room was where everyone went at one point or another, so as long as she didn't have to spend the entire last shift in the showers or something, she was going to stake the room out. Until she found him anyway.

It had been a while since she'd talked to him, or since she'd even seen him, and that was getting to her. Not because she needed him, definitely not, but because she didn't want to start thinking he might have gone like so many others. So many of the things on the board kept talking about people not being around anymore nowadays.

Speaking of... she eyed the board from a distance before sighing and heading that way when she didn't spot the Doctor. "Might as well..."

[Spaceman]

[oyaji]

Eventually the woman that constantly circled him came to "fetch" him for lunch. She had a look about her when she saw that Barnaby was yet again with him and persisted to still be with him. For the life of him, Kotetsu couldn’t understand why she seemed suspicious or uncomfortable with him, but it really didn’t matter. She wasn’t his mother, even if she tried to fill that slot like a square peg in a round hole.

She offered a sacked lunch and an armed escort elsewhere. "Come on, dear. Why don’t we give Mr. Banks some room for a bit, hmm?" Her smile seemed genuine enough, but all he could do was frown and look to Barnaby, which she didn’t seem to appreciate. "It may be a good idea to branch out and spend time with other patients here...?"

Unfortunately for both of them, Kotetsu was no longer paying attention to anything. His eyes had grown wide as he stared at one spot on the carpet. Once more his palms began to sweat and a strange sensation overcame him that manifested into the shivers. Suddenly, he stood up and his dark skin grew pale and clammy.

“H-Hang on, I gotta go again...!” Unsteady legs led him out of the Sun Room with his nurse hot on his heels to make sure he was alright.

[Bunny]