Day 65: Sun Room

[fallenbeanpole]

His nurse had whisked him away from breakfast as soon as the intercom’s voice faded.  Surprisingly, she didn’t take him to the shower rooms, instead bringing him to the Sun Room (as she called it), explaining that since this was his first day he would be allowed to skip the showers.  Besides, it would be good to let his injuries heal a little more.

 

He’d passed through this room on the way to breakfast, but hadn’t really paid much attention to it the first time.  Now that he was standing here, the Once-ler understood why it was called the Sun Room.

 

Despite the fact that it was cloudy outside, there was still far more natural light coming in through the ceiling windows than he had seen in a long time.  The Once-ler stood still for a few moments, simply staring up.  It seemed almost like a dream, really.  The valley never got brighter than twilight, even at noon.  There was too much smog in the air to let any more light through.

 

After a few minutes, he shook his head.  Anybody who saw him just standing in the middle of the room would probably have questions about it, and he did not relish the thought of explaining himself to a stranger.  He glanced around the room itself, spotting the bulletin board Soma had talked about during breakfast.  The Once-ler decided that was a good place to start, and hobbled on over to get a closer look.

 

[For Nina, I believe?]

Comments

I... apologize for the nurse. orz

[timedork]

After showering, the Doctor had intended to spend a little time looking over the bulletin, and then check up on Donna or find someone to chat with if she was still showering (she was probably still showering)—but he'd taken no more than a few strides across the room when he was stopped.

"Mr Smith!" a woman called out. He looked towards the nurse hurrying towards him; it wasn't the usual one. He suddenly couldn't help but think of the nurse that had... mutated on the bus the other night; she hadn't been the usual one, either. "Mr Smith, if I could trouble you..."

"Yes?" he said, flashing her one of his best smiles after a moment's hesitation.

"As I recall, you got along splendidly with Michael Blake during his time here," she said, casually taking his arm to lead him as she spoke. "One of our new patients is a few years younger than Michael, but since there are only a few other children his age here, I was hoping that maybe you could be a friend to him."

Before the Doctor could answer her, she stopped by a couch where a boy was leaning back with closed eyes. The Doctor wondered if maybe he was trying to sleep—but the nurse didn't seem to think he was.

"Mr Taylor, this is Mr Smith," she said immediately, gesturing towards the Doctor. "I hope you boys can get along!"

She gave a little wave to the two of them before bustling away. The Doctor watched her go for a moment before looking at the boy on the couch again. "Er—hello."

[knightspirit]

For once, Kyousuke wasn't paying too much attention to his surroundings, but even distracted, it was hard for approaching footsteps and two presences hovering over him to escape his notice. He forced his eyes to stay shut instead of chancing a look, so that maybe they'd take the hint and leave, but it seemed there was a nurse who was bad at reading the atmosphere. .... Great.

He made a glance at the person left with him, a man who seemed older than he was used to used to associating with. He probably expected him to say something, but he really had nothing to say. Instead of returning the greeting, he responded with a light, "...Hn," and simply settled back into the couch.

[timedork]

The boy (whose name was most likely not 'Mr Taylor') was not the talkative kind, obviously—or else he really had been trying to sleep and wanted to get back to it.

The Doctor was of half a mind to leave him to it and find Donna instead, but a quick glance around hadn't turned her up... And if the boy was a new arrival, making sure that he at least wouldn't be... unprepared wouldn't be a bad thing. He was pretty young, after all—well, if his appearance was anything to judge by. In his experience, appearances were often deceiving.

"I'm the Doctor," he said, giving a friendly smile now and taking a seat opposite the couch the boy was settled on. "I assume your name isn't actually Taylor."

Unless the boy told him to go away, he'd stay—for the boy's sake, rather than the nurse's. And maybe a little bit for his own sake as well...

[knightspirit]

... This was annoying. Talking was probably the last thing Kyousuke was in the mood for, but on the other hand, it wasn't like he'd actually get any rest like this, and sitting around in unproductive anger was a waste of time. The thought hardly made it lessen any, but if he was already irritated, he could at least find a way to channel it into something useful. Of course, whether his already thin patience would allow it was another question entirely.

But as it turned out, the greeting was enough to make him look up again in genuine interest. Doctor...? For the time being, he ignored introductions and the fact that it hadn't been accompanied by a name; the only thing he could think of was his discussion with Sora and what he'd managed to read about it.

"You... wouldn't happen to be versed in surgery, would you?" he asked carefully, studying the man intently. He still thought this way of healing the victims sounded insane, but if they could find someone who actually knew what they were doing, it would be less risky. It was worth a shot, at least.

[timedork]

The Doctor's face scrunched up at the question. "Versed in—? Well... no, not versed in it," he answered, rubbing absentmindedly at his neck. "Read up on it, of course—I studied medicine once or twice, but performing surgery, well... It was never really a focus. I'm more of a scientist than a medical man."

The boy in front of him looked like he was in one piece, but that could be as deceiving as his apparent age—especially if the so-called doctors here had gotten their hands on him for experiments already. Something clenched in the Doctor's stomach at the thought, but he ignored it best he could in order to keep up his own appearances. He did, however, draw his brows together in concern. "Why? Do you need to find a surgeon?"

Maybe it wasn't for the boy. Maybe it was for someone else: his roommate, a new friend, an old friend... Or maybe even just for reference. Someone else could have already filled in some details, and he was preparing for the eventuality of getting hurt.

The Doctor hopped the latter wasn't the case.

[knightspirit]

Couldn't this guy just get to the point...? A yes or no would have been easy enough. But Kyousuke restrained himself from snapping, listening with a certain air of impatience as the man meandered to his answer. From the sound of it, the prospects of using him weren't so good.

"... I see," he responded in mild disappointment. ... It figured. He guessed that would be a little too convenient. In another sense, it was also relieving; maybe if they didn't someone qualified it would force them to find a safer way. But that was probably nothing but wishful thinking.

He didn't seem to know why he was asking, either... He wondered how widespread this knowledge was. It seemed like the sort of thing that would travel around, but who knew. Word of mouth wasn't always very reliable.

"Not exactly," he answered, furrowing his brow. "Have you heard about the sickness going around? ... Apparently, the clue they found to cure it isn't very pleasant."

Hopefully, the man already knew about the first part. Kyousuke could explain if asked, but it was something he'd really rather avoid; he could almost feel sick himself if he thought too hard about it.

[timedork]

That got the Doctor's attention. There had been something over the intercom last night—a message drowning out Landel—about a way for those who were sick to help themselves, but... He hadn't gone there himself and, thanks to the nurse's intervention, hadn't had the chance to see if anything had been posted to the bulletin about what might have been found there.

"I've heard a bit about the sickness, but not about the clue," he said, scooting forward so that he was sitting at the edge of the chair's seat. It sounded like the boy had probably heard it from someone else—but whether that 'someone else' had shared... Well, there was only one way to find out. He stared intently at the dark-haired boy. "Do you know what it was?"

Even if he didn't, just knowing that someone did was important information. If the boy couldn't tell him anything, he could try to find that person, or persons, and ask about it directly.

[knightspirit]

It looked like they were on the same page, at least. Not having to explain the sickness was something of a relief, but then, it wasn't like the clue was any better. Most of the explanation could be left to the imagination, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing, in this case.

"A drawing of a stomach with a butterfly inside it," he replied plainly, fighting the urge to grimace. He knew exactly what sort of mental image that gave him, and apparently he wasn't the only one, as far as he'd been able to infer. But even so, he tried to scrutinize the man's reaction to this as closely as he could. ... It was possible he'd have a different interpretation. Kyousuke wasn't going to hold his breath, but he didn't want to dismiss the possibility, either.

[timedork]

"A stomach with a butterfly?" the Doctor repeated. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from the clue, but... Well, it hadn't been that. Somehow, he'd thought it would be something more straightforward, for the boy to have been asking about surgery so immediately.

"So you think it means there's something—a butterfly, or something represented by a butterfly; perhaps a parasite—in the stomach of those infected?" he said—thinking out loud more than actually asking a question. "Or there's something that needs to be put it to cure it. Or—well, there's also the thought that it's more figurative than that. 'Butterflies in the stomach': nervousness; anxiety; excitement; danger..."

If the clue was meant to be taken figuratively, there were far too many interpretations... And had the drawing been meant to indicate the cure or the cause? Applying that fluttery feeling of butterflies in the stomach to the sickness (or the cure to the sickness) seemed like a bit of a stretch, unless that feeling was a warning. Don't panic, perhaps?

[knightspirit]

This guy... really talked a lot, and once again, Kyouske wished he could just find a point. But it was less annoying than it might normally be, if only for the fact there were several things mentioned he hadn't even considered. Parts of it made sense, and others seemed a little too good to be true.

"Butterflies in the stomach...." he repeated slowly. It was difficult to equate something so horrible with something so innocuous. That didn't make it unworthy of thinking about, but still...

"They found it in the x-ray room, and I saw someone mention a knife. They think that might be part of it too." It fell in line with what he had originally pictured when the clue was mentioned to him: the stomach as chrysalis, and something forcing its way out. Everything was nothing but pure conjecture, and he didn't like operating on assumptions, but even then, there was one detail in all of this that was really bothering him. "I'm not sure if they saw anything else or not. But apparently, it was enough to make people think this is what needs to be done."

He paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. How did he put this...? "You... wouldn't normally just jump to the conclusion most likely to kill you, would you?" He certainly knew he didn't want to believe that automatically, and he didn't even have any direct involvement. So, if people were really resigning themselves to something like this, that in itself spoke measures. Even if he blamed it on fear and hasty conclusions, there was no reason to fight something with something that could end just as badly or worse unless you absolutely certain of it.

He grit his teeth. He hadn't really pressed Sora much on the issue, because he hadn't seemed in the state to be interrogated, and he was sure he'd had the sense to think about what this really meant for him, but now, he really wished that he had.

[timedork]

The x-ray room... Well, if whoever had investigated the clue had been ill—or had an ill mate with them—then there was the possibility that something may have shown up if they had made use of the equipment there. If they could make use of the equipment there. Evidently he'd have to find someone who knew more.

But in the meantime—the boy's question was a bit alarming. "Well... no. Not exactly; not usually—I wouldn't jump to the most deadly conclusion, but it is always a possibility; that can't be ignored. You can't just assume that you'll be safe. Not here; not anywhere."

He wished he had something more positive to tell the boy—but short of lying, he just couldn't.

...Well, except for...

"But... The 'clue' is meant to hint at a cure," the Doctor added suddenly, his now-chipper tone a sharp contrast to his earlier one. "So even in the worst case scenario, it shouldn't kill anyone—well, unless death is the only answer. But death is never the only answer."

[knightspirit]

The boy sighed, leaning back and listening quietly, or pretending to. A lot of it got filtered out as useless noise; he was too preoccupied with everything to pay much attention. To think that he'd ever have to worry about things like this... Underneath the outrage, it was a strange and uncomfortable feeling that he wasn't quite sure what to do with.

... Handle it like usual, he guessed. It wasn't like there was much of a choice.

But the sudden change in tone cut through, and he regarded the man with a raised eyebrow a moment, before snorting.

"That's never an answer at all," he responded plainly. It was possible there were people here who thought differently, but he'd never allow it.