Day 65: 3rd Shift: Courtyard

[redcladidealist]

[From here.]

It was chilly out in the courtyard, making Lloyd glad for the odd but relatively warm clothing he'd found himself in when he woke up. He could have stay inside the building, he knows. His nurse had told him he had a choice of several rooms he could eat his lunch in, if he wanted. The cold felt good, though, and the tree he was sitting against felt solid and comfortable. He still felt lost, but trying to get straight answers from the nurse was frustrating. The man had retreated to let him eat in peace, promising to come back when Lloyd was finished and he'd had a chance to "clear his head." The teen was just fine with that.

Lunch itself was actually pretty good. He'd gotten a chicken sandwich, and his spirits lifted a little when he saw that there was a brownie with it. It had taken him a minute to figure out the box with juice inside, having never encountered anything like that before, but after that it was easy to just settle down and enjoy his food.

Well, for the most part. Worry for his Dad still ate at him, and he had no idea where any of his friends were. He still felt a little off, too, like some intangible part of him was missing or weakened, but he chalked that up to leftover side effects of whatever it was Yuan had done to him. He was confident that would disappear soon enough, once he finished recovering. He already felt well enough that as soon as he was done eating, he was determined to leave. If his doctor had his things, he'd ask for them first, and maybe he could talk to some of the other people here, see if they knew anything that could help, but one way or another, he needed to find his friends and make sure his Dad was all right.


[To here.]

Comments

[nobleman]

Speaking with Claude had definitely taken a toll, but Guy could only hope that he'd made it clear to his friend that he wasn't going to abandon him no matter what happened. In reality, it was still hard for him to picture either Claude or Anise changing into something that wanted nothing but to kill, but he was going to have to steel himself for that as best he could.

In the end, Guy hadn't been able to come to a final decision with Claude, which meant that he was going to need to check in with Anise as well. When he stopped by the bulletin board after being led back down from the second floor by a nurse, Guy spotted a note from Luke.

Guy had been so caught up with Anise and Claude that he hadn't put much thought to his other friends, but Luke should really be a part of all this too. Since Guy wanted to make sure that as many of them as possible met up before night came, he left a message noting where he would be during the free choice shift and then immediately headed for the courtyard.

The temperature had warmed up slightly and the sun was out, which gave the courtyard a more peaceful atmosphere. It was a good place to have a serious talk, and Guy hoped that it didn't fill up too much with other patients. He took a seat on a bench and then let out a sigh, wishing that there was more in his power to help his friends.

He kept an eye on the door, hoping that at least someone saw his message and came to meet him here.

[For Anise and Luke!]

[his_legacy]

Having been unable to post to the bulletin, Link made his way outside when his nurse offered him with more free time. Suddenly remembering that he had wanted to look for nuts and stones to use with his makeshift slingshot, he turned his gaze to the ground as he walked, sharp eyes tuned in on finding anything useful.

He knew that he ought to be socializing, gaining allies and friends. Despite the burden on his shoulders in Hyrule, he had not gone about it alone. He would still be stuck in the dungeons of Hyrule Castle if Midna had never found him in the first place.

Pushing the saddening thought of his lost friend out of his mind, Link shuffled on.

[For Sechs!]

[knightspirit]

Of the choices presented, only one seemed particularly appealing to Kyousuke; after the Sun Room, he'd had more than enough sitting around for one day. He wasn't used to it, so being out in the fresh air would probably do him some good. There didn't seem to be very many people out yet when arrived, either, so he opted for a tree that was out of the way, but still allowed a decent view of the area. He set his lunch aside for now, not particularly hungry after eating more than usual at breakfast, and simply leaned against the tree, not bothering to sit down.

... This wasn't proving to be as easy as he thought it would be. He'd only been around for half a day, but he still had yet to notice any concentrated efforts here, or at least not enough of one to sick out to him. In a certain sense, that was easier; he didn't know anyone here, and was perfectly content with the freedom to simply go about things in his own way. On the other hand, he knew he couldn't keep that up for long. He didn't know much, and one person was hardly enough to affect anything on this scale. ... Well, he'd just have to worry about that later. The long-term was nothing short of foggy, but at least he knew what he needed to be doing tonight, and that was a start. Maybe the rest would start to fall together from there.

[free!]

[survives]

Despite the chill in the air, Leanne found going outside to be almost pleasant, far better than staying cooped up inside. Since arriving in the institute, she'd taken nearly every chance she could to go outside, and this day was no exception. She'd already had enough of staying inside all the time. There was really no reason to repeat that, not here of all places.

In any case, the cold helped clear her head, to finally let her think of something else besides her worries. For just about the entire day so far, the same thoughts had been going round and round in her head, barely giving her a moment of peace. What she'd spoken about with Guy that morning... Leanne had tried to put up a brave face in front of him that morning, to assure him she'd be all right, but she couldn't deny it was terrifying.

Another race against the clock and, somehow, she was actually grateful she didn't know when time would run out this time.

Releasing her breath in a sigh, Leanne shook her head. She'd come here to try to think about anything but that, hadn't she? Yet here she was, doing just the opposite.

Maybe she could actually try to eat something now, after having completely ignored her breakfast, even if her stomach still protested at the thought.

[Tsubaki!]

[impudentsongbird]

At first Gabriel had been torn between visiting the music room or visiting the courtyard, but after a few moments' debate had decided that, in a place of illusory compassion such as this, the music was unlikely to have much range--or at least not be anything Gabe would truly want to listen to. Besides, he wanted to see if there were any fruit-trees outside--for the smoothies.

The Archangel found himself startled by how beautiful the courtyard really was, and then admitted that he really shouldn't be. For all Lucifer's inability to grasp the beauty of his 'cell', he nevertheless knew how to utilise it. Even still, that didn't mean Gabriel himself couldn't appreciate it. Lucifer used it as a tool because he didn't care about its value. More the fool him.

So Gabe ambled slowly along the path, eating as he went and stopping to say hello to the flowers when he passed them. When he reached the pond the Archangel's face lit up; he stepped off the path, sinking to his knees by the pond and leaning over the water to search for fish.


[For Barnaby.]

[lighthearted]

While Sora really should have spent all of his time trying to figure out how to handle his illness, in the end the pain he'd been in and his fatigue had been too great, which was how he'd allowed his nurse to lead him into the Sun Room, only to fall asleep at one of the tables.

The rest did him some good, at the least, but Sora couldn't say he felt that much better as he woke up. The only reason he did in the first place was because a nurse grabbed his shoulder and shook him a few times, saying that the shift was over and he was free to go to a number of other areas for lunch.

With a bagged lunch in hand that he had no intention of eating, Sora asked to be taken to the courtyard. His nurse insisted on giving him a sweater to be put on before he was sent out, since it was still pretty cold out. That wasn't something he was about to complain about, either.

Soma had asked him if they could meet up during lunch, didn't she? In that case, Sora really hoped that she would find him here, although he doubted that she would stop until she figured out where he'd gone. Sora wandered through the courtyard for only a short while before he started to feel dizzy and chose to sit on one of the benches. What he hated more than anything was how useless the illness made him feel.

[For Soma.]

[firewhichrefines]

It felt like ages since Sasuke had seen the sun -- metaphorically seen the sun, anyway. And yet last time had been a mere day ago, walking Doyleton with little aim and too many memories (of crossroads, the smell of rotted flesh, his brother's voice) before the busses had driven into night and he'd spent more time running away from flying creatures than he had taking note of his surroundings. Not that he could have taken much note, anyway, as fully occupying as running full-speed was by now.

The lack of usefulness that came with each new discovery that Sasuke couldn't fully appreciate had been more than clear last night, in the stale underground breeze and the sound of water and Aidou's cool, tense voice describing a mysterious figure whose chakra had flickered in an uneasy way that Sasuke had never seen before.

Conversation with Aigis had only deepened his impression that there was far more than met even a working eye in the basement, and she hadn't even been able to pass through those doors. Sasuke threw a punch at nothing in particular as soon as his nurse walked away, flowing from that single movement into a sequence of quick familiar patterns. Basic kata, taught in the Academy, and nothing threatening-looking enough to bring unwanted attention from the staff.

Beside him the pond lapped at its confines in soft broken splashes: did it feed into the river below? Was there any way to tell by scope, by touch?

[oneman_onekill]

After being pent up inside for the past day and a half, Niikura was ready for a breath of fresh air, even if it was cold, chilly, contaminated-by-Landel air. He also just needed a place where he could run a bit and move and kick rocks or dirt or something because he was in a bad mood.

He exhaled slowly as he rubbed his hands together and began pacing back and forth at the back of the courtyard, trying to disperse some of the energy beginning to build up. There sure were a lot of people hanging around this place today. If he was going to run, he'd probably have to do it in place, and that'd look kind of weird, wouldn't it?

Well, they were all supposed to be insane, so maybe it'd be alright because it fit the environment. Sort of. Not like anyone here knew him well. Very slowly, with a few looks here and there, Niikura backed into a corner and began jogging in place. High knees, high knees, had to keep the knees high now...

[for Mike]