Nakatsukasa Tsubaki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thecamellia) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_institute2012-10-03 12:30 pm
thecamellia) wrote in damned_institute2012-10-03 12:30 pm
Night 66: F11-F20 Hallway
With Rapunzel occupied, Tsubaki had no one to share her amazing discoveries with, not that she really knew what to make of them.
The thick, yellowy liquid she’d ingested seemed to be exactly what the Head Doctor’s note implied it to be--a healing draft of some kind. Instead of making her ill as she’d feared, she’d taken a peek under her bandages and noticed straight away that the cuts on her chest were rapidly healing. Not enough to make them made completely, but enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. And she’d only taken a small sip!
As far as she could tell, there were no side effects, either. The only strange thing to happen all dinner shift was the moment she opened her storage box and found throwing knives tucked inside. A whole set, sleek and black. Professional grade, too.
Tsubaki had spent a long while looking them over, perplexed. It wouldn’t be the first time a surprise had turned up in her things; the vial itself was one of them, the container of poison another. But ninja weapons? What was the motive behind giving her those? The Institute had conditioned her to be wary of blessings, given how double-sided they often were.
Blades would be useful, though. There was no doubt of that.
As the start of nightshift neared, Tsubaki had slipped them into her clothes, a strange taste of home in the act. It felt weird to be armed with more than just scalpels again. Granted, a few knives weren’t going to solve her and her friends’ problems, or prove the Head Doctor’s words wrong, but they were something tangible to hold onto. Something she might have to use before the night was out.
When the lock on the door finally clicked, it was like the starting gate at a race being flung wide. Time to go!
[to here]
The thick, yellowy liquid she’d ingested seemed to be exactly what the Head Doctor’s note implied it to be--a healing draft of some kind. Instead of making her ill as she’d feared, she’d taken a peek under her bandages and noticed straight away that the cuts on her chest were rapidly healing. Not enough to make them made completely, but enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. And she’d only taken a small sip!
As far as she could tell, there were no side effects, either. The only strange thing to happen all dinner shift was the moment she opened her storage box and found throwing knives tucked inside. A whole set, sleek and black. Professional grade, too.
Tsubaki had spent a long while looking them over, perplexed. It wouldn’t be the first time a surprise had turned up in her things; the vial itself was one of them, the container of poison another. But ninja weapons? What was the motive behind giving her those? The Institute had conditioned her to be wary of blessings, given how double-sided they often were.
Blades would be useful, though. There was no doubt of that.
As the start of nightshift neared, Tsubaki had slipped them into her clothes, a strange taste of home in the act. It felt weird to be armed with more than just scalpels again. Granted, a few knives weren’t going to solve her and her friends’ problems, or prove the Head Doctor’s words wrong, but they were something tangible to hold onto. Something she might have to use before the night was out.
When the lock on the door finally clicked, it was like the starting gate at a race being flung wide. Time to go!
[to here]
F15
Nothing.
She frowned a little, then raised her hand again and knocked twice more. "Rapunzel?" she called. "It's me, Soma. Are you there?"
Still nothing. Soma's frown deepened. Had Rapunzel simply missed their note and decided to head out for the night instead? It was possible. Not everyone checked the bulletin before dinner. But it wouldn't hurt to make sure. A few more knocks, and then she slowly pushed the door open, clicking on her flashlight so she could see.
No, she realized as she eased her way into the room. Rapunzel hadn't left--she was asleep, and deeply from the looks of it, her hair gathered around her in a soft pile.
Soma lowered her flashlight instinctively, not wanting to wake her friend. Well, that answered that question. If Rapunzel was that tired, waking her up and asking for a quick heal was out of the question. It was a little disappointing, but it had been a long few days for everyone, and it wasn't as if Soma was going to blame her friend for feeling tired.
She backed up, hitting the side of the desk with an audible clatter, and flinched at the noise, but Rapunzel didn't even stir. She slept on, and Soma wheeled back out of the room and shut the door behind her.
"That plan's a bust," she said quietly. "I'm still going to the library, though."
Re: F15
Curiosity overcame him when Soma entered the room, and he edged forward to get a better view. The man caught a glimpse of the long-haired girl asleep on her bed before Soma lowered the flashlight.
The Once-ler sighed softly and leaned back against the wall. Soma might decide to wake her up, but he doubted that would happen. She had been concerned over taking advantage of Rapunzel's powers that day.
He jumped slightly when a clatter came from the room. It sounded like the wheelchair was difficult to steer in the room. Maybe the noise would awaken Rapunzel?
Soma closed the door behind her as she exited and gave the verdict. The Once-ler shook his head in disappointment. "Well, another day isn't going to kill me. Let's just go back to- wait, what?"
He straightened and looked directly at Soma. "I'm sorry, but I could have sworn you just said you're still planning on going to the library. While in a wheelchair. With other people turning into shadow monsters or who knows what else. Am I hearing this correctly?" He stared at her incredulously.
no subject
"It's just down the hall," she pointed out. "And we're armed, aren't we? And Lingormr wasn't taken for Special Counseling tonight, since we just saw him, and I'm wouldn't shoot to miss for anyone else besides you or Rapunzel, and both of you are here."
And as far as she was concerned, the night was still young. And her stomach wasn't as sore as it had been this morning. It had been one thing to stay in all night when she'd thought there wasn't anything worth doing, but now that she was out and about, returning to her room seemed incredibly dull.
"Besides," she added after a moment, "the flashlight works against the shadow creatures. That's what people have been saying."
no subject
That caught him off guard. For a moment, the Once-ler simply stood there, blinking. Lingormr and Rapunzel were Soma's friends, and she had mentioned him in the same breath as those two. They'd known each other for two days. Could Soma really consider him a friend after that short time?
He pulled the last seed from his pocket and stared at it. Soma didn't know what he had done, what he was responsible for. Would she still list the Once-ler alongside Rapunzel and Lingormr if she did?
Responsibility. In a way, he was responsible for Soma's plans tonight. He'd suggested the book could only be read at night; she might not even have left her room had he not brought it up. His ideas had already caused enough pain and destruction. Should this endeavor leave Soma even worse off than she already was, it would be another failure to add to the already-towering collection. And if she did think of him as a friend, abandoning her would be just that much worse.
"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?" he said, still looking at the small brown seed. The man sighed and closed his hand around it, returning the seed to his pocket. "Fine."
The Once-ler moved to the back of the wheelchair and stuck his arm through the upper gap in the crutch, allowing it to hang off his shoulder like a bizarre purse. He then grabbed the handles of the chair and began pushing, favoring his injured leg. Soma couldn't very well use any weapons if her hands were occupied with wheeling the chair around.
no subject
But the Once-ler didn't say anything at all. Instead, he pulled something out of his pocket--a pebble? It was hard to tell in the dim light--and stared at it for a moment. Then he sighed, moving behind her and beginning to push in what could almost be considered a gesture of surrender if she weren't still so sure he was going to find some way of talking her out of it.
"What was that?" she asked instead, a little warily. "The...thing. In your pocket."
no subject
But Soma had seen it, or at least glimpsed it. There wasn't a way to avoid the question without being harsh, and if this young woman thought of him as a friend, it didn't seem right to hold back.
[to here]