Night 64: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[dualistic]

[From here.]

Still no one. Harvey imagined that before long these areas were going to be flooded with sick people who were going to follow that clue, so he was glad that he'd beaten them to the punch. It wasn't that he thought it was contagious anymore -- by this point, they would have known -- but he didn't need to be surrounded by a bunch of miserable, sniffling people, either.

Relieved that he'd dodged that bullet, at least so far, Harvey reached the end of the hall and took a right toward their regular meeting spot.

[To here.]

Comments

[ryuuzaki]

[From here.]

Outside of his new room, out into the main corridor, and to the spot where he had arranged to meet the others... this was normalcy, as it went, for a night in the Institute. No one was waiting yet. He took the bat in his free hand and leaned it against the wall, then rested against the wall himself, idly sucking on the lollipop.

[Edgar and Nina, where are you?]

[mirrorimage]

[From here.]

Nina was right. She'd found the place they'd agreed to meet, and without any serious trouble at that! She felt mingled worry and relief that she wasn't the last one there. Worry that something bad had become of Edgar; relief that she hadn't been asleep after dinner for as long as she had been afraid she might have.

"Ryuuzaki?" Nina called out softly, as she approached him, just in case he hadn't realized she was coming yet. She didn't want to startle him although chances of that were probably low with the way the white light from her flashlight preceded her. His being injured meant that he'd probably need as much protection as she and Edgar could give and he was willing to accept.

"I'm here."

[ryuuzaki]

L nodded, and his expression brightened a little in greeting.

"Nina. I've brought you something."

He shifted around until he could pick up the bat with the hand that already held the flashlight, then held it out to her. As much as he could, he made sure the beam of light pointed at the floor; it wouldn't do for either of them to be blinded.

"It belonged to my former roommate. I thought you might find it useful--however, let's hope that you won't need to use it too often."

[mirrorimage]

"Mhm! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Wait. Did he said he had something? For her? Nina blinked when she was presented with the weapon. 'I thought you might find it useful' -- she didn't doubt that, after the gory scene in the entry room the night before.

Mentally she echoed his hope that she wouldn't need to use it very often. She was hardly the type of person who relished the idea of having to violently bludgeon anything to death, even something that clearly wasn't human.

But she'd do it if she had to, and she was glad he'd given her some way to defend herself. There was no telling what they might find in these hallways.

She gave Ryuuzaki a sincere, small smile before she reached out and took the bat with one hand, grasping it firmly, while keeping her flashlight pointed at the floor with the other.

"Thanks," she said. Only one word, but infused with intense gratitude.

[girlsandgadgets]

[From here.]

Edgar rounded the corner, spinning his shovel idly as he spotted his party for the night. Fashionably late, but better than not arriving at all. He greeted them both with a nod a piece. "Nina, Ryuuzaki. I saw your message on the board about the inspector and I've heard nothing from Terra, so I assume we are all that's coming tonight."

That last bit didn't settle well with him- he'd seen neither hide nor hair of Terra in a few days, which was never a good sign in a place like Landel's. She could have been locked away for torture, been infected as well and too sick to leave her chambers... or worse, brainwashed and released into the world around them as a stranger in her own skin. As far as Edgar was concerned, death was a better choice than to be stripped of himself.

Of course, it was a bit different for Terra, as it wasn't too different from the state she'd been in, her memories still locked away and her potential unknown; however, she'd been within grasp before, somewhere he and Locke could help her come to understand her powers the same way they had in their own world. If she'd been 'released,' she was well beyond their reach for the time being.

Which meant he needed to focus on the task at hand: the basement, Landel, and the infection that was spreading through the patient population. He eyed Ryuuzaki a moment, trying to assess his condition beyond the sling from a cursory glance.