Nightshift 62: Main Hallway, 1-West

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Taura took up station midway between the two halls leading back into the dormitories. Alone with her thoughts; the hall was quiet. Too quiet. Dead quiet, a little voice hissed in the back of her mind.

This was no time to be getting superstitious. It was unavoidable, really, in a profession with so much risk involved in daily operations, that those who survived found things to credit. Beyond their own skill, because they'd all seen better men/women/herms when their luck ran out, and skill only improved your odds.

Her luck was holding, tonight. Was Rita and Goku's?

[Rita and Goku]

Comments

sorry for the wait, sudden visit from a friend

[inamatus]

The ever shifting white noise as people moved from hallway to hallway, room to room, whispering, muttering, talking amongst themselves, fed into his ears and he had to rest. Ritsuka leaned back against the wall and the cold pierced through the fabric of his shirt, soothing skin he hadn't realized was flushed. His tail twitched and his ears flicked in every direction as he listened, but it wasn't until Nigredo was almost on top of him that he noticed the other boy.

"Huh...?" He stood up a little straighter, ears swiveling toward the familiar voice, and Ritsuka finally clicked his flashlight on. A low sweep across the floor soon revealed who he had been waiting for and Ritsuka nodded.

Nigredo was safe. Thank the higher powers, he was safe.

"Yeah, it's me. Um...are you okay?"

no worries.

[atrabilis]

It was him. Nigredo blinked as the flashlight's beam swept into his range, eyes adjusting to the sudden glare it produced. For a brief moment, he failed to register Ritsuka's inquiry. The importance of welfare had yet to click in his brain. Instead, Nigredo recalled a separate element to last night--more specifically, to what had been confessed.

His mind blanked as comprehension set, before edging toward discomfort. Green eyes adverted their gaze to the side.

"I'm okay. I'm uninjured," he muttered. "They...must have mended me in the morning." That was one way putting whatever they do. "...Are you okay?"

[inamatus]

Being okay and being uninjured were two different things and Ritsuka wanted to point that out to Nigredo, but it was obvious the other boy wasn't in the best mood to talk. Asking him about Yomi probably wasn't wise - not tonight at least. Maybe tomorrow during the day when there was more time between what had happened and the present, when that open blank could be used as a buffer against reality. For now, it was just pure focus that kept Ritsuka from thinking on things - a focus that faltered when Nigredo asked after him.

"I'm fine," he said, the words tumbling out automatically before he had a chance to really think. His answer was and wasn't a lie. "...I wasn't hurt last night."

Damn hypocrisy.

"Were you heading somewhere...? I wasn't. Not really." Ritsuka shifted, his flashlight dimmed and he shut it off, shuffling his feet. "...I just wanted to make sure you were safe. You and--" His voice hitched in his throat and he had to swallow before he could continue. "Albedo."

[atrabilis]

One could say the distinction had sparked in Nigredo's mind, but as per habit, he relinquished the concept in regards to himself. It returned with full force when Ritsuka gave his answer, one the U.R.T.V. could have spoken on another occasion. Vaguely, he started to wonder if very few people ever held care for themselves.

The thought washed over and settled, static in the background. Nigredo did not believe he had the right to protest over another's friend, even as that person had--

"Albedo."

The name was enough to distract and evoke discomfort in tandem, and unable to face Ritsuka, the boy retained his line of sight. "I was going to his room." To give him what was likely a useless hope. In that respect, perhaps Nigredo should offer the same to another.

"Rituska, um." This was far more taxing than it should be. "If you have nowhere to go, would you like to join me? I have something to tell both of you."

[inamatus]

That...sounded ominous. The way Nigredo refused to meet his gaze paired with the understandably somber tone surrounding him culminated in an atmosphere that had Ritsuka's tail swishing in agitation. He didn't like this and it was clear, but his worry for his friends outweighed his misgivings and anxiety over Nigredo's announcement. At the very least, going with Nigredo would tell Ritsuka where his brother slept. Just in case, he thought. Just in case they disappear, too.

"...Okay. But tell me your room number?" Both of them. He had to make sure to keep track of both of them. After losing so many, after nearly watching Nigredo die, he wasn't about to let either of them go without a fight. He knew that losing Nigredo would kill Albedo, just as he knew that losing Albedo would scar Nigredo. The bond of brothers, a fear of death - no matter what Albedo said, they were still very much human to Ritsuka. "I'm M35 in case you ever need it."

[atrabilis]

The offer threw him off center, and it took Nigredo time to manage a response. No one had extended a numbered room to him, especially for purposes outside of a nightly errand. Aside from Albedo's room, Nigredo had nowhere else to go, and thus, this was something completely unexpected. Something his pride would have discarded just days prior.

Something he found comfort in all the same.

He finally met the other's gaze. Casting aside thoughts of a dangerous roommate and his brother's consent on the matter, Nigredo answered, "M96. Albedo is in M58." His voice lowered, the boy suddenly (inexplicably) shy. "Thank you."

With that, he moved onto the next set of corridors.

[To here.]