Night 64: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[thecamellia]

_{[from here]}

She paused again by the Sun Room, probing the darkness. There were no flashlights around to break up the shadows, and no natural light to guide her eyes. After all her many nights moving around the building without her own flashlight she’d become more than adept at navigating in total darkness, but caution still pricked at the fine hairs on the nape of her neck every time she reached an area that was not heavily populated with foot traffic.

If Landel had half a mind to prevent them from reaching the secret in the Medical Wing, now would be the time for him to act. Tsubaki couldn’t trust that he hadn’t heard I.R.I.S.’ relay, if the intercom’s abrupt cut-off had been any indication.

As she passed the doors leading to the entryway, she once again felt her eyes wandering toward them. Would what had happened there happen again? To someone she knew next time?

Would someone be injured because of the transformed prisoner?

Keep going, the assassin in her said. No time for doubts.

_{[to here]}

Comments

[skeletonenigma]

"Because I'm brilliant." Just as Rita wanted Skulduggery to know she didn't have healing magic herself, Skulduggery thought it was best to let her know that right off the bat. "You were having trouble this afternoon. You don't strike me as the kind of person who asks for help when they don't need to, no matter how inconvenient the alternative might be. Now, you're walking normally. Injuries don't heal that fast on their own."

Well, unless you were an Adept with a healing ability, like China Sorrows. But there really wasn't time for long explanations now, so Skulduggery simply noted that Rita no longer had the healing stone on her, as far as he could tell. "Who did you borrow it from?"

He knew at least one person who would be interested in getting back on their feet, and there were likely many more.

[overlimit]

“Uh huh,” was all Rita had to say about that. She could see the logic in that reasoning, at least, so she supposed she could leave it at that. The ‘brilliant’ part was still questionable, though.

As for who she borrowed it from, Rita was reluctant to say. “Why, do you need it for something?” He didn’t look injured to her. It was possible he had an academic interest in the item as Rita did, but even then… “I’m not sure I trust you enough to tell you without a good reason.” If any old schmuck knew that Taura possessed something valuable like that, there was a chance that someone would try to steal it. Rita wasn’t going to be responsible for that.

[skeletonenigma]

Now this was more familiar territory. As helpful as it was, Skulduggery wasn't used to people who answered his questions right away, with the truth, the first time, without even the need for a minor threat. That seemed to be all he'd gotten so far, give or take. But here was a girl with some common sense, as well as an opinion of his ego comparable to Valkyrie's. In fact, Rita was acting enough like Valkyrie in the short time since they'd met that Skulduggery was beginning to wonder if the teenage mage was a hallucination.

"Fair enough," he conceded. "I don't need it personally, but I met someone last night who would love fast-healing injuries." He pushed himself off the wall and turned to face the doorway. "Shall we?"

It occurred to Skulduggery that he'd been fighting for the last few centuries under the assumption that his skeleton was the only thing that could be damaged. But now he had skin, and organs. Skin that could be cut, organs that could be punctured. Skulduggery was no medical expert, but he was pretty sure a pierced lung or ruptured heart was a little more detrimental and worrisome than a cracked thigh bone. And, of course, reattaching limbs would be a bit of an issue. Healing stones could come in very handy down the road.

[overlimit]

Looked like he didn’t take much offense to being told she didn’t trust him. Good. Rita didn’t need to deal with the type of person who considered every little acquaintance a trusted friend.

... Almost as if on cue, the mage noticed Sora – Kairi’s friend – giving her a friendly wave as he passed by. Yeah, that type.

Skulduggery suggested that they get moving, and Rita had to agree. Even if their destination wasn’t far, there was no point in wasting time. They could continue talking when they reached the library. “Right, let’s go.” She poked her head into the doorway to check for obvious danger, then entered.

[to here]