Day 66: Game Room (Fourth Shift)

[knightspirit]

The game room, huh... In normal, everyday life, it wouldn't have sounded too terrible, but as things were, it seemed like more of an annoyance. Games were fine, but priorities.... On the other hand, Kyousuke seemed to have hit a block in figuring out the clues to the the illness, and just thinking without getting anywhere wasn't very productive, either. At this point, it may have been best to push it aside and come back to it fresh. He had his reservations about it, especially since the end of the day was rapidly approaching, but... Frustration wasn't going to get him any closer.

He poked around what games were there with resignation, still half wondering what he was even doing and trying not feel guilty for needing a break. After a while he came across an electronic device marked "Game Boy Color" and picked it up out of curiosity. He'd heard of those before... If he was right, this thing was older than he was, by quite a bit. Flicking it on confirmed his suspicions; the sound and graphics from it spoke for themselves.

Shrugging, he took it a random seat, wincing at the pain in his ribs as he sat down. He guessed it wouldn't kill him to mess around with this thing for a little while.

[Lloyd!]

Comments

[complicatedliar]

Loki nodded. "I will be certain to let you know on the morrow."

He looked down at his hands. "The other matter is something much more strange. I spoke with Soma about it last night before..." his lips twisted as if with remembered sickness, "business was conducted. Something strange has happened. When I awoke after... Special Counseling... my magics were not entirely shut off from me any longer. Just the smallest of things, but I've found I can make illusions again, if very limited ones."

His gaze returned to Kratos. "I do not trust it."

[forsworn]

Kratos's eyebrow rose in the perfect picture of (very polite) suspicion. How exactly had Lingormr managed this? Or had it even been by his power? That in turn begged the question of why Landel would even want to grant someone who obviously had great magical powers a sliver more of his original strength. Either he had some purpose of allowing Lingormr to regain his illusory power, or some kind of...reward...

He was loath to suspect any patient of actually allying in some fashion with Landel, but there was always a slight chance; the military had offered incentives for patients' cooperation, so it did not seem too far-fetched for Landel do something to that effect as well.

"Interesting," he said slowly, eyebrow still raised. "I've never heard of such a circumstance. Can you think of any reason for you to have received a gift like that?"

[complicatedliar]

Loki shook his head. "Soma told me it was unheard of as well, and I had thought so much myself. I find it... intensely disturbing."

He frowned, looking as if he wasn't certain if he should feel insulted or not. "None at all, unless he," such disgust in his tone, and entirely unfeigned since he found the man quite loathsome, "found me particularly entertaining as a victim of his mind control."

Loki shook his head, sitting back in his chair. "I find it suspicious. I do not know what his game is in this. Perhaps to sow more paranoia between us all. Perhaps to make me the goat for some plot. Those are the two ideas that spring most quickly to my mind. Soma thought perhaps it was the doing of the other people, those on the radios. I know too little to even begin to guess in that direction."

[forsworn]

"Hm." Kratos frowned. It was possible, too, that the rebels were behind this strange development; actually, he had forgotten to consider them. If that was so, though, it was unfortunate that they could not have bothered to extend their generosity to the rest of the patient population as well. "That may well be the case. With things as they are now, it wouldn't take much at all for Landel to provoke some kind of extreme reaction toward any of us. Whatever the case, though, all we can do is guess at the motive, and I would prefer to have more information before attempting that in earnest.

"I'm curious as to why you felt I needed to be warned of this," he added mildly. There were many potential reasons that came to mind, but he disliked, as he had made clear only seconds before, speculation. To be honest, Kratos did not really bother to keep tabs on who was capable of what unless their abilities were curative, and if Lingormr had ever demonstrated his illusions, would have simply assumed that he was always capable of that, albeit to a limited degree.

[complicatedliar]

Loki shrugged. "I found it a strange occurrence and thought it best to share that information with a few people in case there was use for it." He smiled tightly. "Particularly as I have received censorious remarks for not having been forthcoming about my abilities as a magician when I could not even utilize any of them. If you feel I have wasted your time in this regard, I do apologize."