damned_institute | Day 64: Cafeteria (brunch)

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Day 64: Cafeteria (brunch)

Well, that went well! Anise had gained herself a gorgeously handsome new friend. She just hoped that weird illness didn't get either of them killed before she could get to know him any better.

... Yeah, that was morbid. It was hard not to think about, though.

Before going to the Cafeteria, Anise made a stop at her room to grab her journal, maps, and a pen. Once she finished eating, she could get a start on copying the maps for Barnaby. He was going to be so glad he met her!

With that done, Anise made her way to the Cafeteria, where she picked up an assortment of food, making sure to get some meat, vegetables, and milk on her tray. She then sat down at a table and set her notes aside while she started on her meal. It was hard not to feel self-conscious about the rash on her arm, though the makeup she used had blended the discolored part enough that it couldn't be seen from a distance. Anise just hoped no one would come specifically looking for it.

[Ilia!]

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It was hard to tell whether things were finally looking up or not, judging from last night's...unexpected events and the calmness of this morning. Zero woke up without a cast on his arm or bandages around his neck for the first time in days, and although the night before had been a disaster (no thanks to the man who had caused that bus to crash), it hadn't been a complete waste of time. The situation was bad, but it could be worse. Much worse.

...Though Landel's multiple statements about the illness in the patient body were less than comforting, and they reminded Zero of what he'd promised to do yesterday: go the medical wing and gather medicine to distribute to the ill. Hopefully it wouldn't be too late to go tonight...and hopefully nothing unexpected would happen that would prevent him from doing so once again.

But as for the morning. The chapel hadn't sounded like something worth visiting, so Zero had spent the entirety of first shift practically camped out on a couch in front of the bulletin board, going back and forth between writing and reading. Most of his board activity had to do with leaving a number of irritated notes about that patient from yesterday who'd decided rioting would be a good idea (Snow Villers, someone on the board revealed). It wasn't that Zero was blindly pissed off about the whole thing, exactly - although the incident did leave him with bitter feelings - but he simply wanted to let that guy know that what he'd done yesterday was unacceptable. Especially when he was going around the board acting like nothing had happened. Nothing had happened? Did this guy have any clue...

(That exact transcript of what was said prior to the crash was quite impressive, on a related note. Wonder who left that...)

It wasn't long before Zero was forced to become separated from the board, his chatty nurse appearing to take him to brunch. Not that he was really annoyed by it, though. He could always note swap later. For now, it would be good to get some energy back in his body for the rest of the day. The once-Reploid separated himself from his nurse as quickly as he could, filled a plate with an assortment of food, then seated himself alone, considering his plans for the rest of the day and later on.

[Free!]

Though the nurse was as sweet as ever, the Scarecrow couldn't help but flinch as she put a hand on his shoulder, pulling his attention from the bulletin board he'd been pouring over for the past hour. She frowned sadly as she looked her ward over: his skin was clammy, limbs occasionally shaking, brow twisted with worry he couldn't begin to describe to her. Not that he hadn't tried.

"I'm not seeing anything on the board from my roommate," the Scarecrow said, turning back to the board and flipping through the notes tacked there. "I know he would have said something by now somewhere. I just know it!" He was far more concerned for Depth Charge now, given the events of the past few days. First it was Landel's blatant warning that some people were infected with some sort of something, set to become monsters; then there was the fact the nurses had become monsters right before their eyes only the night before. To see the transformation occur before him was both terrifying and fascinating, their bodies twisting in ways he'd not thought capable of the human form. With Depth Charge being missing, all he could think of was that his roommate had been taken and was soon to be turned into a creature, as well. The mental image of his friend writhing as he changed, face stretching far more than his structure should have allowed, limbs taking an inhuman shape... it all left the former strawman very unsettled indeed. What could be done about it, the Scarecrow wasn't sure- but there had to be something.

He scratched at his hand nervously, not paying much attention to the spot there or how much worse it was from the day before, the rash creeping up his arm. The nurse touched his shoulder again as he pulled at one of the bandages covering his forearms, nudging him in the direction of the cafeteria. He'd need his strength if he was to get well, and having seen how his health was deteriorating quickly, she knew he needed to eat something, anything. He was only going to get worse when he found out the bad news.

The Scarecrow complied, letting her fetch him a tray before leading him to a seat. He scanned the crowd on the way- no tall figures looming over the rest, no blue hair to make him stand out. Another day, and his roommate was still missing. He wasn't willing to give up hope yet. Then again, he'd never been one to be terribly pessimistic about things. He had a seat at the table as the nurse left him, scratching idly at his arm again.

With his mind so preoccupied, it took a full three seconds for him to even realize there was someone sitting before him. He nearly jumped again, spooked; he recovered himself quickly, offering a friendly, albeit unsure, smile.

"How do you do? I hope you don't mind me joining you."

When a strange, worried-looking man with bandages joined him at the table, Zero made mental note that the stranger existed but otherwise paid him no attention, continuing to take in his morning energy source instead. But then the man suddenly spoke up, and he was half-forced to give him more than a few seconds' worth of attention. Did he really have to talk to this guy? There was a reason he'd tried to sit by himself, after all, and it was not for this.

Hopefully the stranger wasn't expecting some sort of insightful response to that question. Better yet, hopefully he wasn't expecting much conversation period. The once-Reploid wanted to think, not be bothered by pointless small talk with someone he didn't even know. He hoped staring quietly at the stranger rather than responding would get that message across clearly.

... While he was looking at the other man, though, Zero supposed he might as well take a closer note of the guy's features since he had barely glanced up at him earlier. His skin was...unusually rough for a human's, wasn't it? Other than that, there didn't seem to be anything noteworthy other than that he had bandages on his arms (from last night's nightmare, perhaps?) and...wait. What the...that redness on his hand...?

"What's that on your hand?" Zero suddenly asked, his rough tone unintentionally making him sound quite demanding.

The Scarecrow had been expecting a greeting or an opportunity to give the man before him his name; what he received was something far rougher and more intimidating, especially given the previous night and his state of mind. He glanced at his hand, one still scratching the other, the red marks trailing under the bandages on his forearms.

"Oh, this?" he asked, holding his hand up for confirmation as though there could be another hand with red marks in question. "I don't know, honestly. It doesn't feel at all well, though. It's as though I can't scratch it enough."

He didn't know? That was...strange. And somewhat suspicious. Why wouldn't he know where it came from?

...Guess there could be many reasons. But considering that there was a dangerous infection spreading throughout the prisoner population right now...not to mention having seen someone else he knew with a red marking on their hand... (Or was that a stretch? It had looked more like a ring, after all, and this in front of him was clearly something like a rash. Besides, Sechs had been operated upon and changed by the staff, hadn't he? Maybe the red mark on his hand had been related to that, and this rash was something completely different...)

... The more he thought about it, the less he was sure that he knew what he was looking that. After a few seconds of silence, the once-Reploid shook his head. "Never mind," he muttered, contemplating going back to his food and dropping the conversation here.

...Though it was probably worth explaining to the stranger what that was all about. "I just...saw someone else with a red mark on his hand, too."

"You did?" the Scarecrow asked, instantly curious. He'd thought he'd seen the rash on a few other patients, but they treated theirs like secrets, carefully trying to hide them. While his was partially obscured by the bandages on his arms, he'd felt no particular need to keep it a secret. The connection between the rash and Landel's cryptic warning had been lost on the former strawman, he knew too little about human ailments to understand on his own.

Curiosity bit at him as he coughed into his hand, his chest aching painfully. He took a drink to soothe his throat, thankful humans had the ability to do so. "To be honest, I don't know much about this kind of thing," he continued, returning his cup to his tray. "It just showed up the other day. I didn't think much of it then, but it's gotten worse ever since. The nurse just tells me it's something that's going around."

Something that was going around...and something that had gotten worse since it showed up. Hmm. Definitely suspicious, especially if this guy's nurse was telling him it was the supposed 'bug' that the intercom kept talking about...

The desire to drop the conversation was gone in almost an instant. "It might be something worse than what she's telling you." Zero paused, staring hard at the man out of poorly conveyed concern. (Concern didn't even seem to be present in his expression at all, in fact.) "You have been hearing the warnings, haven't you?"

The man said he hadn't thought much of his rash...but even so, it would be a surprise if he hadn't heard a thing. Certainly, he must have heard something from somewhere. But if he really didn't know, then the sooner he was informed, the better. Hopefully he would be the type to react calmly to the news...

"About the infection?" he asked, his inflection on that last word more sounding like a repetition of something he'd heard a few times. The Scarecrow rubbed idly at his hair, trying to think of all he'd absorbed over the past few days. It was honestly a muddled mess, given everything else on his mind: the basement, the disappearance of the military, the mission, his friends' disappearances, and Depth Charge's absence. There was a lot to think about- more than he was sure his human brain, as damaged at it was, could handle.

He knew there was the warning that some patients were infected with something, but he wasn't sure what that meant in the slightest. He understood he was sick only because his nurse kept insisting he was. It bit at his confidence, to be so ignorant again- he was sure if he'd had his brains, he'd have already figured out not only what it all meant, but how it applied to him, now being human, and how it all tied together with Wizard Landel. Even better was he was positive he'd know how to fix things and go home.

Well, there was no worrying over his missing brains for the moment. He looked down at his arm again, wondering about its condition and if the man before him was implying what he thought he might be. "I saw the nurse on the bus change yesterday, right before our eyes! I thought I would try to find my roommate to ask him about it all, as I think he knows more about humans and how they work than I do at the moment. I haven't seen him for a day or so, and I was afraid they might've taken him and turned him into one of those somethings that roams the halls at night."

"Yeah, that."

So he did know about the threat after all. From the sound of things, he knew enough to understand what it might mean through seeing how the nurses transformed into unrecognizable monsters last night. (Would the 'infected' patients be changed the same way, Zero wondered? Probably so, and it wasn't a comforting thought...) But apparently, the stranger didn't know much beyond that - or at least, he wasn't aware of his illness in the way Zero was expecting.

The way he described humans and how they work....

"You aren't normally a human, either?" the once-Reploid asked curiously. He would ignore the other's concerned rambling about his roommate in the meantime. It wasn't like Zero could tell the guy anything helpful about that when he didn't know the answer himself...

In his fretting over the rash and his missing roommate and the transforming nurses, the Scarecrow hadn't been thinking to try to keep up the appearance of being human, even if only to see if he could. People sometimes accepted the false name Peter had given him, Frank Westerning, easier than his own. He wasn't entirely sure why, though he assumed it was because his name was actually what he was, and no longer being a scarecrow, it did seem a bit odd. It'd be about as practical as naming the Tin Man something like Cowardly Lion when he was neither cowardly, nor a lion.

His answer for the man across from him was an honest one. After all, he tagged an 'either' onto the end of his question. Surely that meant he was a non-human, as well. "That's right," he replied with a nod. "Oh, I should've introduced myself sooner! I'm Scarecrow."

"Zero," the once-Reploid responded in turn, still staring hard. Scarecrow...? Yeah, Zero had never heard of a regular human having such a name before. Wonder what Scarecrow used to be? A crow-like Reploid was the first thing that came to mind, judging solely from the name (...though he doubted he was right).

Whatever he used to be, the confirmation that this man wasn't originally a human was enough to explain his apparent attitude toward his illness. If he didn't understand it (or how humans worked in general), then how was he supposed to truly feel alarmed by it beyond what he had seen or heard? Zero would probably be in the same position as him if he'd been showing symptoms.

...Impulsive curiosity would once again get the better of him, it seemed. "So...what were you?" Kind of a pointless question, admittedly, but it wasn't like he had anything better to ask at the moment. Anything else he could say at all would amount to 'well then, be careful', and that he could save for whenever they were finished talking.

"Why, a scarecrow, of course," he answered, rethinking it almost as soon as he'd replied. First of all, not all constructs like himself were simply called what they had been before their arrival- he had a feeling Depth Charge was more of a name than a function, though he'd yet to ask. Names weren't just reserved for the living.

He'd met people who seemed surprised he'd be named after scarecrows, never believing he could actually have been one. On the other hand, he'd almost met some who had never heard of scarecrows before, simply because there were no crows where they came from, and therefore no need for someone to scare them away. With everyone coming from different worlds, it was hard to tell who knew what, especially when some may have not had brains before their arrival.

"Though I suppose that's not entirely obvious, now is it?" he continued with a small smile, deciding to explain. "Scarecrows are built to look like people and set out in fields to keep birds away from the crops. I never was very good at it, though."

Good thing Scarecrow promptly explained himself; that saved Zero the trouble of having to ask for much needed clarification. So his name was less a 'name' and more what he actually was along with his function...which was to protect crops from birds. (?) He was also built to look like a human, much like a Reploid... Huh. So then, Zero's assumption was correct after all? Scarecrow was originally an android of some sort, too?

...Interesting. Odd function for a machine, though... How long ago was it that humans actually grew their own food in fields, anyway? And why would a human-like robot be made just for the sole purpose of standing in the field all day, shooing away birds? Zero didn't get it at all.

"I...see." He blinked slowly and slightly tilted his head to the side questioningly. Very, very interesting. It was becoming harder to hold his curiosity back. "I've never heard of that. But then, I haven't heard of humans having farms for a long time, either."

A long time - yes, that could explain it. People came here from all different times, right? So then Scarecrow would have to be a much older model from some century in the past. It didn't make sense to Zero otherwise...

"I suppose it might not be as common here as it is in Oz," the Scarecrow replied after a moment of thought, finally taking a bite of his meal as his mind was drawn from his concerns over his roommate and the infection to the home he'd left behind. He wondered if anyone had noticed he was gone- surely they would have by now. Then again, despite being the wisest and the king, he didn't have very many duties with his position. While he was positive Tin Man and Lion would have thought something was wrong, the rest of the Ozites might not have thought a thing about his absence, assuming he'd wandered off to do some heavy thinking, as he often did.

Oh right, the conversation. There went his mind again, wandering off. "And what were you before coming here, Zero?"

Oz...? So that's where this guy came from. Never heard of such a place before...which opened up one new possibility: perhaps Scarecrow was from a completely different planet rather than a different era?

Wouldn't be surprising to hear.

Still, if they made robots that scared birds there...their technology had to be at least somewhat modern, right? Or else...

--hm? Zero was so busy thinking about possibilities that he almost didn't hear Scarecrow's question. Foolish... Even during the daytime, he didn't need to be losing focus like that. "A Reploid," he answered - then, once again, reminded himself that no one here knew what that was. "Self aware android."

Surely, if Scarecrow was built by people as he claimed, he would know what an android was at least?

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Day 64: Cafeteria (brunch)

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