Lloyd wasn't a morning person. He didn't necessarily sleep in ridiculously late, but it was hard for him to just get up and get going as early as everyone else seemed to manage. This was a fact that had made him late for school more times than he could count throughout his life. When the Landel's voice filtered into his room over the intercom, he groaned, only registering the interruption to his sleep just enough to roll over in his bed.
Or he tried to. Pain shot through him when he shifted his weight onto his left side, and with a hiss he quickly aborted the effort. Groggy and disoriented, he opened his eyes, his right hand coming up to press against his ribs, only to find the left side covered in bandages. His left arm, too. What...? For a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened. Had he been attacked on his way home from school? It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to fight off monsters in the forest...
No, that wasn't right. He wasn't even living at home right now, wasn't going to school except for the sporadic lessons Professor Raine tried to give him as they traveled across Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. A monster attack still wouldn't have been out of place, but what was the last thing he'd been doing?
He was still trying to collect his thoughts when the door to his room opened. His room that he didn't recognize at first until he saw the face of his nurse. That was when the memories came back, of Landel's, of Lee and Flora, of the monster that had attacked them the night before. His breath caught in his throat. Lee and Flora-!
"Good morning, Nigel," his nurse cut into his thoughts. It was the same man as before, though this time his face had a distinct expression of sympathy as he came over to the side of Lloyd's bed. "How are you feeling? That was a nasty accident you had yesterday."
"Accident?" Lloyd echoed. He couldn't have kept the confusion from his voice even if he'd tried. "I didn't have an accident. There was a monster, and I-"
He'd tried to escape. They'd broken out of Landel's, had made it all the way to the road, had been attacked, and now he was back here. Dammit! All of it had been for nothing! Unless maybe Flora and Lee were still out there. He couldn't remember what had happened that led to him being brought back here, but maybe he'd been the only one that had gotten captured again. He quickly bit down on the impulse to ask if his friends were all right. If there was any chance that they were still free, he couldn't bring attention to them.
The nurse shook his head. "That was just a nightmare, Nigel. Now, let's get you dressed and off to breakfast. You'll feel much better with some food in your stomach."
"I can dress myself," Lloyd said, irritated. "And my name's not Nigel. It's Lloyd."
His protests earned a sigh from the man. "Well, if you decide you can't manage with your injuries, I'm here to help. But you really should start trying to remember who you are. Your loved ones are worried for you, Nigel."
"I know who I am - and it isn't Nigel. I don't know why you keep calling me that." Gingerly, Lloyd got out of his bed and went to his closet to get a clean shirt and a pair of pants. It would be hard to change into them on his own, but he wasn't about to let someone help him get dressed like he was some kind of little kid. He winced as he carefully and awkwardly tugged his old shirt off.
"Because your name is Nigel Clarke," the nurse said with far too much patience in his voice. "And I'm sure you'll remember that for yourself soon enough. That's why you're here, after all. Now, come along. You don't want to be late for breakfast." He only waited long enough for Lloyd to finish pulling his clothes on before leading him from the room.
Once they got to the cafeteria, the nurse guided him into the line for food. Lloyd continued to grumble silently about the whole situation, but once it was his turn to be served, he took the food willingly. Hey, he was hungry, and food was food. He'd eat and then figure out what he was going to do next. Plate loaded with the meat-wrapped-in-bread, a fruit cup and a glass of juice, he turned to scan the room for a place to sit down-
-and stopped, feeling suddenly frozen in his place. A man was sitting at a table near the door, his back turned to Lloyd, but Lloyd knew that head of red-brown hair, knew the stiff slope of his shoulders. He didn't even register the other man that was sitting there. His attention was all on-
"Kratos!"
His knuckles went white as he gripped the tray in his hands, and without thinking he stormed across the room straight for the table where the angel was sitting down. The teen's whole body practically bristled with anger at the sight of the man.
"What are you doing here? Is Cruxis in on this? I thought the Renegades and Cruxis were enemies!" Or had Yuan not been involved in bringing him here after all? Maybe Cruxis had captured him sometime after he'd collapsed from whatever Yuan had done to him, then brought him here so he couldn't keep interfering with their plans. Damn it, either way, this couldn't be good!
It didn't even cross his mind that he might have been interrupting a conversation.
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Or he tried to. Pain shot through him when he shifted his weight onto his left side, and with a hiss he quickly aborted the effort. Groggy and disoriented, he opened his eyes, his right hand coming up to press against his ribs, only to find the left side covered in bandages. His left arm, too. What...? For a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened. Had he been attacked on his way home from school? It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to fight off monsters in the forest...
No, that wasn't right. He wasn't even living at home right now, wasn't going to school except for the sporadic lessons Professor Raine tried to give him as they traveled across Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. A monster attack still wouldn't have been out of place, but what was the last thing he'd been doing?
He was still trying to collect his thoughts when the door to his room opened. His room that he didn't recognize at first until he saw the face of his nurse. That was when the memories came back, of Landel's, of Lee and Flora, of the monster that had attacked them the night before. His breath caught in his throat. Lee and Flora-!
"Good morning, Nigel," his nurse cut into his thoughts. It was the same man as before, though this time his face had a distinct expression of sympathy as he came over to the side of Lloyd's bed. "How are you feeling? That was a nasty accident you had yesterday."
"Accident?" Lloyd echoed. He couldn't have kept the confusion from his voice even if he'd tried. "I didn't have an accident. There was a monster, and I-"
He'd tried to escape. They'd broken out of Landel's, had made it all the way to the road, had been attacked, and now he was back here. Dammit! All of it had been for nothing! Unless maybe Flora and Lee were still out there. He couldn't remember what had happened that led to him being brought back here, but maybe he'd been the only one that had gotten captured again. He quickly bit down on the impulse to ask if his friends were all right. If there was any chance that they were still free, he couldn't bring attention to them.
The nurse shook his head. "That was just a nightmare, Nigel. Now, let's get you dressed and off to breakfast. You'll feel much better with some food in your stomach."
"I can dress myself," Lloyd said, irritated. "And my name's not Nigel. It's Lloyd."
His protests earned a sigh from the man. "Well, if you decide you can't manage with your injuries, I'm here to help. But you really should start trying to remember who you are. Your loved ones are worried for you, Nigel."
"I know who I am - and it isn't Nigel. I don't know why you keep calling me that." Gingerly, Lloyd got out of his bed and went to his closet to get a clean shirt and a pair of pants. It would be hard to change into them on his own, but he wasn't about to let someone help him get dressed like he was some kind of little kid. He winced as he carefully and awkwardly tugged his old shirt off.
"Because your name is Nigel Clarke," the nurse said with far too much patience in his voice. "And I'm sure you'll remember that for yourself soon enough. That's why you're here, after all. Now, come along. You don't want to be late for breakfast." He only waited long enough for Lloyd to finish pulling his clothes on before leading him from the room.
Once they got to the cafeteria, the nurse guided him into the line for food. Lloyd continued to grumble silently about the whole situation, but once it was his turn to be served, he took the food willingly. Hey, he was hungry, and food was food. He'd eat and then figure out what he was going to do next. Plate loaded with the meat-wrapped-in-bread, a fruit cup and a glass of juice, he turned to scan the room for a place to sit down-
-and stopped, feeling suddenly frozen in his place. A man was sitting at a table near the door, his back turned to Lloyd, but Lloyd knew that head of red-brown hair, knew the stiff slope of his shoulders. He didn't even register the other man that was sitting there. His attention was all on-
"Kratos!"
His knuckles went white as he gripped the tray in his hands, and without thinking he stormed across the room straight for the table where the angel was sitting down. The teen's whole body practically bristled with anger at the sight of the man.
"What are you doing here? Is Cruxis in on this? I thought the Renegades and Cruxis were enemies!" Or had Yuan not been involved in bringing him here after all? Maybe Cruxis had captured him sometime after he'd collapsed from whatever Yuan had done to him, then brought him here so he couldn't keep interfering with their plans. Damn it, either way, this couldn't be good!
It didn't even cross his mind that he might have been interrupting a conversation.