damned_institute | Day 63: Bill's Hardware (Late Afternoon)

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Day 63: Bill's Hardware (Late Afternoon)

As he left the park, Kratos realized that he had not once touched the card still sitting in his jacket pocket where he'd stowed it. There was, if he recalled from last week, a decent amount of money on it, enough to get something that was worthwhile. Leaving it unused would be a terrible waste, and thus, it wasn't long before he found himself walking into the hardware store again. The question now, of course, was what he needed to buy.

...or he could figure that out as he went along. This particular store was interesting enough that he didn't feel his usual urge to find whatever he wanted as quickly as possible, interesting enough that instead, he vastly preferred to walk a little slowly and peruse the contents of the aisles with a little more scrutiny. Last time, he had been in the company of That Person, but today, he was alone. Nothing was holding him back from devoting all of his attention to picking out whatever it was that he would inevitably conclude he needed.

Of course, if asked, he would vigorously deny that he was enjoying himself at all.

[for Soma]

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The day had passed more quickly than Soma had thought it would. She'd only had enough time to grab a quick bite in between meeting people, and as the sun began to descend again, she decided she had better start spending what little money she had on something worth keeping. The hardware store was only a short walk away, and she went in without hesitation. A chainsaw was probably out of the question, but at the very least she might find a useful tool or two.

She wasn't expecting to see a familiar face inside, but she headed over nevertheless, inclining her head and smiling slightly. "Kratos. How has your day been?"

He had stopped to look at some tool pouches; given how much stuff he had acquired by now, it seemed appropriate to have something that would allow him to keep it all within easy reach but not close enough to his person to be awkward, like up a sleeve. There was one that seemed promising, and Kratos was about to snag one off the display to examine it more closely when his name was called.

"Thought-provoking." He straightened up and turned to face Soma. "Yours?"

"Quiet, mostly." Soma shrugged, bending to inspect a small toolkit. There were plenty of ways something like this might come in handy.

It wasn't what she'd meant to talk about, but the question had been lingering in her mind since last night, and she didn't see much point in beating around the bush any longer. "I heard you showed Lingormr around two nights ago. How did that turn out?"

It felt a little wrong, going behind Lingormr's back like this, as if she didn't trust him. She did, she was sure of it. But it didn't seem like many other people did, which was oddly baffling.

And really, when she thought about it that way, wasn't it better to get it out of the way and ask people what they thought? It would clear the air, at least, and at least she'd find out why people didn't trust him as opposed to the nebulous answers she'd been getting.

Kratos paused, partly to turn back and finally take one of the pouches and look it over, and partly to compile reasons why Soma would immediately ask him about his night with Lingormr. Were they friends? He recalled that Lingormr had mentioned that Soma thought well of him, indicating that he had consulted her beforehand, and considered her opinion worth something. If they were friends, he could understand how she might be inclined to watch out for him, although he couldn't see her being so concerned that she felt the need to look into his every movement. Perhaps she had found out about the report, but the chances were slim, barring some choice eavesdropping. Or perhaps she hadn't found out, but suspected...

He would get to the bottom of this soon enough. Without looking away, Kratos replied, "It went well. We were able to explore much more of the medical wing and acquire some supplies." As he flipped the pouch over to check the price, he added, "I heard you gave Lingormr prior warning about me." It hadn't been a warning exactly, but he had only phrased it that way to make the underlying question clearer: What is your relationship to him?

Soma nodded slightly. It wasn't really what she'd been asking about, considering she was more interested in what he thought of Lingormr and not what they'd actually accomplished, but at least the initial report wasn't negative.

She offered a faint smile at his wording. "Sort of. Sora paired him up with Riku the time before that and they didn't really get along. He wasn't sure if he wanted to keep working with Arts and Crafts. I just thought the two of you would probably work together better."

Although even that seemed like it wasn't going to work out. It was a little disappointing, but what was more important was why he thought that way. "To be honest, I'm not sure what to think about him. He's always seemed eager enough to help, but Sora and Riku apparently think otherwise. I trust Sora's judgment, at least, but it's a little baffling."

It was probably a little too early in the conversation to mention that she considered him a friend. Better to have Kratos give her his unbiased opinion without thinking he needed to spare her feelings.

"So he told me. I think anyone would have worked better with him than Riku." Kratos had never gotten the full story, but it sounded as if they'd managed to get on each other's nerves enough to spawn full-blown animosity: always a good sign to separate people.

And it seemed he'd gotten to the bottom quite quickly. "He was indeed very generous with his offers of assistance" - but Kratos had never made use of any of them - "but I doubt that's what those two see as suspicious. It's probably a matter of character, and, if Riku thought poorly of Lingormr, I would think he's told Sora as much. Being Sora's close friend, his opinion probably matters highly to our leader."

He looked at Soma. "The Lingormr I worked with two nights ago certainly didn't match up with Riku's account at all, but that isn't to say that he was wrong; I think you and I can both agree that everyone has their faults. The question is whether those faults dominate and..." Kratos shook his head. "...I can't say I can give a definite answer for that right now." He'd only worked with the man once and heard just a few second-hand accounts; that wasn't enough to pass complete and final judgment.

Soma had to suppress a snort at that. "I didn't meet Riku until the night after they had to work together. He probably reminded Lingormr of the people he grew up with."

Still, at least Kratos seemed more open-minded about Lingormr's character. She had to wonder, at least briefly, why she felt so dead set on defending him when everyone else seemed to feel otherwise. It wasn't common for people who wanted to join Arts and Crafts to come under such close scrutiny, and she wasn't sure where the problem lay.

"He seemed a fairly helpful scholar to me," she mused. Probably best not to mention the magic thing until Lingormr felt comfortable with it being common knowledge. "If they argued at all, I can't imagine what they might have argued about."

"If he reminded Lingormr of the people he grew up with, I can probably guess." Lingormr disliked being patronized, especially by those who called themselves proper warriors. Kratos had not worked much with Riku, but he could guess, based off of the young man's demeanor, that he fell into that category.

"You've talked with him at length?" He did have his suspicions about the man (but then, he was suspicious of most people), but if Lingormr had gained Soma's trust, that did earn him some points in Kratos's book: Soma was one of the few people within the institute whose judgment he mostly trusted, although he didn't know for sure how easy she was to persuade.

"I don't know Riku well enough to pass judgment, but he did seem to think highly of his abilities. It's probably no surprise they clashed, then." She just had to hope neither of them were the resentful type. Just because Lingormr didn't want to work with Arts and Crafts anymore didn't mean anything bad should come of it.

She shrugged. "I guess. It sounds like I've talked with him a lot more than most people here. He's very reserved about his past, but I think a lot of it has to do with being used to downplaying his own abilities. It sounds as if he was very unhappy before he arrived here. Once he gets used to the idea that his intelligence is an asset rather than some kind of curse, I think he'll be very helpful."

It seemed that Lingormr had opened up quite a bit to Soma, and Kratos found himself wondering what it was exactly that had prompted the man to do that. Was it simply the opportunity to draw in a sympathetic ear, or something more honest? He didn't know enough about Soma to make any guesses, but it must have been something that he lacked.

Not as if he'd told Lingormr much to begin with, though. That made two of them who were very reserved about their pasts, but Lingormr hadn't been tight-lipped enough to hide his displeasure with his former home. He, on the other hand, had said barely anything to anyone, save Leon, about the sorts of things that had befallen him prior to his arrival.

"Mm. As long as our goals coincide, I agree." Kratos wasn't about to make some sweeping assumption about Lingormr's usefulness, especially since the other man had made it clear (at least, in his eyes) that he had created objectives for himself that he intended to fulfill, with or without Arts and Crafts' help. "It's unfortunate that he had to come under such a cloud of suspicion."

That was an unusual way to phrase an answer, Soma decided. She frowned a little, not entirely sure what Kratos was trying to say. "Beyond just escape, you mean? What did he say to you?"

Unfortunate and unusual, as far as she was concerned, but she wasn't going to belabor the point. It wouldn't help Lingormr's case, and if he didn't want to work with Arts and Crafts, it didn't mean anything in particular. There were plenty of other things he could do instead.

Kratos shook his head. "I apologize; I wasn't referring to anything he said in particular. Allow me to clarify: if we are speaking generally, I agree with what you said. The things he wishes to accomplish would be helpful to any and all patients. If we are speaking with regard to Arts and Crafts--with any organization at all, I also agree that he would be helpful--but only when he wants to be, and not directly."

His eyes wandered back to the pouch; one hand idly picked at a corner of it. "He is pursuing some impressive endeavors, and he seems intent on pursuing them independent of anyone else unless he finds them useful or cooperative. When I said that our goals needed to coincide, I meant that we might be able to accomplish what we are aiming for by building off of whatever he does, as pathetic as that sounds. Because of Riku and Sora's suspicions, he's probably been convinced that the effort of ingratiating himself outweighs the resources we have to offer, so I doubt he'll directly offer his assistance again."

Being introduced to Rapunzel’s friend had certainly been unexpected! She counted Rapunzel as one of her own friends, so Flynn’s arrival concerned her on a particularly personal level--not that he was there, exactly, but that he was now in danger because he was there. Oh, she hoped nothing happened to those two… If one of them got hurt, she could guess how badly it would affect the other. And Landel’s was, unfortunately, a place where people got hurt on a regular basis.

At least they had each other’s company now…? Tsubaki supposed on some level she envied them that small comfort.

Comfort remained on her mind even after she took her leave of the two. Flynn and Rapunzel had given her an idea, and when she eventually left the warm atmosphere of the bookstore behind, she did so with a bag in her hand. Origami had been such a nice activity before; it occurred to her that with some proper origami paper, maybe it could be again. If it ultimately cheered up her friends, she’d count her purchase as a success.

Now, though, she needed to spend the bulk of her money on something more practical if she was going to spend it at all… The hardware store was the only place she could think of to do that. One first aid kit was great, but two? Two would mean she could start spreading them out amongst the prisoners…

While she finished up paying, Tsubaki watched one of the nurses tuck the first aid kit under her arm and walk away with it, knowing she wouldn’t see it again until dinner. Too bad nothing in it could really help people like Sora and Leanne with their symptoms.

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Day 63: Bill's Hardware (Late Afternoon)

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