Day 67: Breakfast

[knightspirit]

For the first time since Kyousuke arrived, waking up didn't feel the slightest bit strange or out of place. It was still like night had suddenly stopped, with nothing in-between then and now, but instead of being disorienting, or like there was something missing, it was like waking up from a nightmare. His breaths came heavy and anxious, everything flooding back to him, but unlike last night, he had more mental clarity, and he actually understood what it meant.

Sora... was dead.

After a moment, his breathing seemed to ease up, and he sat up slowly, and simply stared down at his blanket. The motion hurt quite a bit, a lot worse than it had yesterday morning, but he seemed to be in decent shape, all considered. Sore, battered, a little faint, but compared to worst of it...

He wondered if he should feel upset right now, or want to yell, or cry, but the truth was, he didn't. If anything, he was just numb. Tired and listless. He wasn't sure what to think or feel about anything, but somehow it seemed distant and disconnected, like something that hadn't actually happened. Yet, if he lingered on it too long, the lifelessness grew into something nauseating, heavy and constricting in his chest, and he didn't even notice until he realized he was gripping his bedding unnecessarily hard. So he forced himself to relax, and not focus on it too much. ... He preferred the cold sort of nothingness.

When the nurse arrived, she wasn't empty-handed, unfolding a wheelchair by his bedside and looking at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to settle himself into it. Looking at it was strange and uncomfortable, and he found himself refusing automatically.

"... I can walk fine. I don't need—"

"What you don't need," the nurse said sternly, "is to be overexerting yourself. You got to walk around yesterday, and what do you do? You go and reopen your injuries! Honestly, Mr. Taylor, you might be young, but you need to take better care of yourself! Today, you're resting, and if you're good about it, we'll see about maybe taking the chair away tomorrow."

That was bad enough, but then she wouldn't even let him wheel himself, and pushed him along from behind. This was totally unnecessary... But though it made him feel helpless, Kyousuke didn't have the energy to argue, so he let her do what she wanted. She asked if he wanted to make a quick trip the bulletin, first, but... Would the news be there? There were people who deserved to know, but there would be reactions to it, questions he didn't want to answer, and feeling his stomach give a lurch, he decided he didn't want to deal with it. Any of it.

Once in the cafeteria, the nurse asked him about breakfast, but Kyousuke insisted he wasn't hungry. ... He wasn't. Sensing he wanted to be left alone, she wheeled him off to an easily overlooked portion of the cafeteria, but quickly returned, setting food and some juice in front of him, "just in case." She set a small paper cup with a couple of painkillers on the tray, and after that, she left, leaving the boy to stare down the meal he didn't really want.

[ Kratos! ]

Comments

[ever_loyal_dog]

[from here. Beware of spoilers on intro post, breakfast post should be ok though!]

Soushi followed the woman down a long hallway and through a wide open room before they reached the cafeteria. It wasn't so different from the one at Ayakashi-kan; made to accommodate several more guests, perhaps, but similar enough to put him just a little at ease.

The nurse handed him a tray and pushed him toward the breakfast line where more staff members handed him food and drink. He was vaguely disappointed that there was no tea; it seemed odd not to have it at breakfast of all things.

The room itself was large and mostly empty, a few others in the grey pajamas were wandering in as the helpful nurse also pushed him toward a seat. He assured her he would be fine, though he kept an eye on the doors, hoping for any familiar faces. The food was left mostly untouched. He didn't like eating in front of others, if he could help it.

[Free!]

[redcladidealist]

Just like last night and the night before, Lloyd woke up back in his room without any memory of how he'd returned. This time, though, something was different. As he uncurled slowly, he realized that his hands were clutched around a book.

A book...

Ishida's journal...

That was right. He'd taken the journal from Ishida's room to use the maps the other boy had drawn to help guide him, Inoue, and Karkat through the halls in their search for him. The last thing he remembered, they still hadn't found him-

"Good morning, sleepyhead!"

The cheerful voice wasn't one he was familiar with, belonging to a nurse with a round, friendly face who bustled into the room. The woman made her way to the side of Lloyd's bed, resting a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Come on, Mr. Clarke, it's time to wake up! You don't want to miss breakfast, right?"

Mr. Clarke. Mr. Clarke. Somehow that felt even more foreign than when he was being called Nigel. But she was smiling and it was hard to feel more than a flash of irritation. "It's Lloyd," he said, pushing her hand away so that he could sit up.

The nurse sighed, then patiently patted his arm. "Still not remembering, huh? It's all right. We'll get you there soon, I promise. At least your arm is healing up nicely. See? You might even be able to take the bandages off this evening, so long as you behave and don't do anything that might aggravate anything."

Glancing down at his arm, Lloyd realized she was right. The fresh bandages that had been put on at some point didn't seem to hold anywhere near as much gauze and covered a smaller area. He couldn't see the bandages on his ribs, but the injuries there felt a lot better, too. They still twinged when he moved, but it was a vast improvement compared to before. I'll have to remember to thank Inoue again...

Somehow, though, he didn't think he should mention Inoue's healing to this woman.

"Where's the other nurse?" he asked instead, partly curious and partly to distract the nurse before she could think to wonder why his arm had healed so fast.

"It's Alan's day off." The nurse smiled again and pulled on his arm. "Now come on, let's go get you some breakfast."

With his stomach already growling at the thought of food, it was hard to say no to that. Lloyd stood up and took a step, then hesitated and looked down at his hands. The journal was still there. "Hang on," he said, shaking her off and moving over to his desk. He had a journal, too, though he hadn't written in it. He grabbed that and a pen, then turned back. "Okay, I'm ready."

Not questioning the move, the nurse led him out, murmuring something as they walked about how writing in his journal was a good idea. Lloyd didn't feel like correcting her assumption. Instead, he just followed her into the cafeteria and sat down once he had his food. As soon as she stepped away to let him eat, though, he pulled out both journals and flipped to the page in Ishida's that had the maps he'd drawn. He wanted to give Ishida's journal back, and had no intention of reading whatever else might be in the book, but those maps would be useful to have for himself. He didn't think Ishida would mind if he only copied that much.

Between bites of waffles, he carefully copied the layout of the halls and rooms. Every so often, though, he looked up and scanned the room, hoping to spot the journal's owner, or anyone he knew. With his attention distracted, he knew there was a good chance he'd miss his friends if they came in, but if all else failed, he could always put a note on the bulletin. Backup plan in mind, he quickly set back to work.

[Free.]

[voiceofthanatos]

Yuri was actually feeling better than yesterday. Actually going to bed at a proper hour did wonders for him. He spent most of the night cooped up in his room, testing his powers over flames and noting the changes. He would have to adjust them to be used sparingly, especially when they came with a wave of fatigue after use. Then he wrote some notes down on his journal and producing some maps made from memory in his place for good reference. He had yet to experience the nightmare asylum in full yet, or the disorientation that came with passing out at night.

Gathering up a tray, he assembled some waffles topped with syrup and a side order of eggs while going through the line. He stopped at his usual corner of the cafeteria by himself, expecting no visitors.

As he bit into the waffles and begun to consume his meal, he wondered how his home was doing, the potential frenzy going on and where exactly was he kept confined in.

[Barnaby]

[freewill]

It had been far too easy for him to fall asleep. In fact, Castiel hadn't even been completely aware of it as it had happened. He'd felt his eyelids getting heavy, had done what he could to still his breath, but then the next thing he knew--

He was coming to, woken up by the voice of the Head Doctor over the intercom. Castiel opened his eyes slowly, his mind swimming with some remnant of -- could it have been a dream? No, angels weren't supposed to dream, but he also wasn't much of an angel anymore. He remembered oranges and blacks, decorations of some sort? But the longer he was awake, the more it faded away.

Still in pain, Castiel shifted, felt his muscles protest, especially those in his abdomen. It looked like his bandages were due to be changed, as they were soaked with blood and discharge from his wound.

His nurse came in with a roll of gauze and greeted him, relieved to see that he'd gotten a "good night's rest." Did she have any idea of what he normally did with his nights? Castiel doubted it, but the phrasing still struck him as odd.

"Let's get your bandages switched out," the nurse said, "and then you can get into the wheelchair. If you're lucky, you might be able to switch to crutches soon."

Castiel hoped so. Yesterday had been unbearable, but at least his head felt clearer this morning. The pain wasn't as crippling, either, but he made sure to sit still as the nurse removed his shirt and unwrapped his bandages.

She frowned at the messy wound underneath. Kratos had made sure to cut into him as cleanly as he could, but the fact was that they had rushed the surgery, not to mention the lack of supplies. The fact that he was healing at all was a relief in his opinion.

Once the new bandages were in place, the nurse helped him into the wheelchair. As humiliating as it was, Castiel realized that rest would get him back on his feet faster than if he protested. Before long, they had made it to the cafeteria, and the nurse brought him some waffles that he had no intention of eating.

Though maybe he should try. After vomiting a few times yesterday, though, putting something in his stomach seemed like a terrible idea.

[For Aigis?]

[longlivetheking]

There was one thing worse than getting soaked by cold rain and falling face flat into the mud, and that was getting soaked by cold rain and fall face flat into the mud without accomplishing anything at all, considering the night had so delightfully ended before Scar could even so much as decide on a direction once both he and Murphy had finished the infuriating task of climbing over the wall.

In other words, tonight had been an unnecessarily irritating endeavor. Not that Scar could have expected anything more in this dreadful place, but he still couldn't help but to feel irritated as he awoke back in his room and the day once more reverted in an all too familiar routine. The chatty nurse did not help. She never did.

"Now why don't you keep Mr. Fox some company?" suggested the woman in question after supplying him with the pathetic excuse for food they served here. Scar had to resist rolling his eyes as he followed the woman to some individual he had never seen before.

"He's new, so be nice."

The emphasis on the last word did not quite escape the former lion's notice, and neither did the fact that the infuriating woman chose to linger until Scar had at least said hello.

"Well, good morning." The tone of Scar's greeting more or less conveyed every amount of enthusiasm he felt, but at least the female seemed satisfied enough with his effort to leave.

A new person, hmm? Oh yes, just what he needed this morning. Hopefully, this individual would be remotely worth the effort...

[nobleman]

As Guy woke up, the first thing that registered was that he was dry and warm. His instinct was to curl up further, press his head into the pillow, and enjoy the comfort of his bed...

But then something struck through his mind like a lightning bolt, specifically the haunting image of that dark figure with that stark white mask. He opened his eyes, not frightened, but suddenly aware. He remembered the forest, and the flower in that thing's hand.

Had it really worked? It was impossible to know right then and there, but he was eager to get a hold of Anise and talk to her. Disappointing as it was that both Claude and Anise hadn't been given one of those flowers, Guy realized that he had to appreciate what they had. Maybe if they went back to the river tonight, they could cure Claude too.

Of course, that was assuming that it had worked at all, but Guy didn't know what else to make of that strange encounter.

With a resigned sigh, he pulled himself out of bed right as the nurse stepped in. There was no sign of Locke, which either meant he'd woken up before him (possible, since Guy had been so determined to stay in bed while half-asleep still) or--

But the nurse didn't blink an eye at the empty bed, so maybe it was all right. It was better not to jump to conclusions.

He was led out to the Sun Room first and immediately tossed up a note for Anise before heading into the cafeteria. Waffles actually sounded pretty good right now. After that wet, cold night, getting some hot food in him seemed like the perfect remedy. Guy stood in line and then took a seat with his tray of food, keeping an eye out for his friends. The sooner he saw them, the better he would feel.

[Taura.]

[ever_loyal_dog]

With things as they were, Soushi had to wonder if he hadn't been better off in the room he woke up in. The nurses were kind, but like the ones back home, told him little about what was actually going on. The whole thing was suspicious and put him on edge, though he was well-trained enough not to let it show.

The utensils and food were enough to tell him this was some sort of Westernized establishment, though he hadn't taken much interest in the food itself. There were far too many things weighing on his mind for him to stomach anything.

It wasn't until the a different nurse returned, addressing him as Mr. Fox, and seating another patient at his table, that he finally had someone to speak with. Perhaps this man could provide a few much-needed answers. Perhaps he had no more idea where they were than Soushi did. Regardless, it was worth a try.

He recognized the lack of enthusiasm in the man's voice; he was a chore, an undesirable. Whether the man was always this friendly or if he'd just had a rough night was anyone's guess. Undaunted, Soushi fixed him with a practiced friendly smile.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. They call me Johnathan Fox."

[dividedby]

Well, well. What an unusually pleasant surprise. The night had come and gone without any disaster; in fact, it had actually ended rather well, with Zero and his allies managing to get the supplies they'd searched for the night before last without a single nasty surprise from Landel or his monsters. And to make things even better, Zero actually woke up on time this morning instead of sleeping in and missing most of the day.

Of course, that didn't mean nothing serious had happened in the Institute in general, or that others weren't sleeping when they shouldn't be. He and his friends were probably just lucky...

But Zero wouldn't know if anything had happened for sure until after breakfast. Apparently he had woken up so early that the bulletin board was completely empty when his nurse allowed him to stop by it on the way to the cafeteria. That didn't stop him from leaving a note that he and Leanne had wanted to make yesterday, though (with which he'd tried his absolute best to be as subtle as possible, although he wondered later if he had tried a little too hard). He hoped he'd see a response to that after breakfast, too.

For now, taking in some energy would be a good idea. The once-Reploid hadn't eaten anything the day before thanks to his unusually long sleep, and so he and his stomach were actually looking forward to a bit of 'recharging' with food for once. He gathered up some things on a plate (waffles today - he was actually starting to learn what half of this stuff was called), and then he found himself a seat across from someone unfamiliar who had two journals spread out in front of him. ...Curious sight. Though Zero chose not to say anything to the man - or at least, not yet. He instead got to work cutting up some of his food...but even so, he couldn't help but keep a curious eye on what the other man was working on.

[asteroidbelt]

Something was definitely off. It wasn't the nurse; she was walking a little ahead of him like she was yesterday, and Ryusei was fairly certain that she'd even used the same tone of voice to greet him when she came in, though obviously Ryusei couldn't know for sure. It wasn't the way the nurse didn't seem to have gotten to his request yesterday, either. Well, maybe a little, but he could rationalize that as just her personality.

By the time he'd taken a seat with his food, the problem wasn't any clearer. Mildly annoyed, Ryusei opened the journal—he'd assumed they were allowed to bring pens, as none seemed attached to that bulletin board, so he'd asked if he could bring the notebook—and put it on his lap, and looked intently at it make it seem like he was reading while he ate.

[free]

[redcladidealist]

In the middle of sketching out a more complex section of the map, Lloyd didn't look up at first when someone sat at the table with him. Despite the fact that arts and crafts was one of his best subjects in school, drawing itself was something he wasn't particularly good at. He was better when it came to physical stuff, building or sculpting things. Things on paper were something else, especially when he was using a pen and couldn't easily go back and fix any mistakes he made along the way. This was important, though, so he was trying to take time and care, making sure he got doors where they were supposed to go and the halls as straight as he could with the exact same number of rooms connecting where they should. It still wasn't perfect, not even close, but he figured it would be passable enough to use to help him navigate the halls.

It was a minute before he reached a spot he felt comfortable pausing at. Feeling the other's attention on him, he glanced up and met the stranger's eyes. He blinked back, just as curious about the blond. Had he really been doing something that was that interesting to watch?

Figuring he might as well say something, if for no other reason than to be friendly, he let the pen rest in his hand and sat up. "Um, hey," he said tentatively. "...did you want to talk to me?" He guessed the answer was yes, but it didn't hurt to ask. The other guy could tell him if he was wrong.

[baniichan]

Barnaby woke with a start, the air rushing out of his lungs as he struggled to breathe. His hands balled into fists at his sides, then relaxed. The ceiling came into focus, and the Head Doctor's voice filtered through the intercom.

Morning.

He was human again.

But even then, he didn't feel it. The fuzzy memories of the painful transformation and the overwhelming thirst for blood, plagued him. As far as he knew, he hadn't attacked anyone else, but he couldn't guarantee he could keep controlling himself if this continued.

As his nurse escorted him to the cafeteria, though, Barnaby tried to reel himself in and focus on the moment. No longer confined to his wheelchair, he could at least move on his own two feet, slow and pained as it was. Today was a new day, which meant new opportunities to get to the bottom of this. Furthermore, he hadn't talked to Kotetsu yet, who likely had news regarding whether he'd made any headway with their investigation.

But first, he had other matters to attend to. Once his nurse assembled a tray of waffles for him, Barnaby caught sight of Yuri Petrov. Within moments, he'd settled in the seat across from him, and the nurse left them to their own devices.

"How was your night?" he asked in way of greeting, not reaching for his fork right away. Under normal circumstances, it would have seemed like small talk. In a place like this, though, it was an important question.

[dividedby]

Hmm... It looked like the other man was making a map of some kind, from what Zero could tell. A map of the Institute? That would make sense (and it gave him a good idea - to ask later if X and Harpuia had maps, too). It also made him question how long this particular prisoner had been here if he was just getting a map. His face wasn't familiar, and not just because Zero had never talked to him before...he also couldn't recall seeing this man around on previous days. True, he could have missed him, especially since he'd spent yesterday sleeping, bu...

...oh. Seems the man noticed he was being stared at.

And Zero kept staring, ignoring the man's question for a few seconds. This was...slightly awkward, admittedly. It wasn't like he was opposed to talking to the man, but his staring had been without the intention of striking up conversation. Too late now... Might as well at least say something.

"Not really," he answered honestly, resuming cutting up his food. "Just noticing your work." He put a piece of waffle in his mouth and pondered something as he chewed; then he couldn't help but ask in the middle of chewing: "Are you new?"

[voiceofthanatos]

Yuri drank some of his boiled tea, letting the warm liquid settle his stomach while Barnaby came over to his table. He expected the younger man to find him, as they agreed upon earlier to exchange information. Of course, Yuri wasn't going to spill about his own power limitations, but he could give off the air of trying to be helpful well.

"I see you recovered quickly." He noted that Barnaby wasn't using a wheelchair this time for assistance.

"It was fine, I had a chat with my roommate during dinner and afterwards I did a bit of writing before retiring for the night." Yes, his journal, the only method he had of recording information. "I paid attention towards your warning and did not venture out of my room during the night. I had no business being out regardless." Escaping wasn't an option until he mapped out more of the institute mentally.

[no_dont_go]

Aigis had also taken a night off to rest, having taken the advice of one of her comrades and stayed in rather than risk bringing more harm to herself. The sleep had done her well. This morning she felt refreshed. There was still some quickness to her heartbeat and shivers sometimes overtook her but they seemed to have lessened since the day before. Her fever was gone, at least.

However, Aigis felt a little disappointed that she had wasted a night on recharging. She needed to be out there, figuring out how to escape and how to bring down Landel. Her thoughts centered on the source of her misery, Aigis quietly followed her nurse to the cafeteria and received a tray of waffles and bacon. Today, the food looked and smelled appetizing. A small consolation.

Glancing around for a mealtime partner, Aigis spotted Castiel seemed along and she made her way towards him. Setting her tray down, she gave a short bow of her head before sitting. "Good morning, Castiel-san."

She cut into her waffle all the while gazing at the wheelchair her friend was sitting in. "I take it your night was not pleasant?"

[awokentospring]

Lee woke with a start, surprised by the suddenness of morning. He had been certain he was climbing stairs but now here he was in bed again.

He sat up and looked down at his injured hand. His right arm was still in a sling, but his left had been carefully bandaged over all the glass cuts he had received the night before. His head felt a little heavy, and reaching up Lee's fingers could feel a tight knot forming under his hair at the back of his skull. Lee knew there was a possibility he had been given a concussion, but he had lived through worse.

Pushing himself to his feet, Lee thought back to the Head Doctor's comments about washing hands and was reminded of the blood soaked handkerchief. He would need to take care of that before he returned it to Facilier. The doctor was really quite kind.

Lee's nurse came in then, chatting in his kind and patient way as he instructed Lee to hop to it for breakfast. Lee winced at the tightness in his left hand. He knew he was going to have trouble eating today with his fingers barely managing to curl.

"This is why you should take better care of yourself, Bruce." Nurse Todd gave Lee a piteous look. "Your parents are worried about you. And when you hurt yourself, you hurt others as well."

"But I did not mean to hurt myself," Lee replied with a pout. Todd only shook his head, obviously believing Lee was merely in denial.

They made it to the cafeteria and Lee was quite glad to see most of the dining options were things he could pick up and eat without the use of utensils. The nurse helped him fill a tray with waffles and sausage and bacon, then led him to a seat where Lee hungrily chowed down.

[Flora~]

[requitedfate]

Shiina shuddered awake and immediately wished she was back asleep. Her entire lower half hurt, throbbing strongly enough to bring tears to her eyes. She knew she had to get up today and move around but the very idea made her breathless. How was she going to survive another day here?

Her nurse chose that moment to walk in and her eager smile evaporated upon seeing Shiina's distress. She disappeared out the door a moment and returned with a pill bottle, carefully moving to help the teenage to swallow a few pills down. She had to move Shiina into a sitting position to help with the pills and Shiina hardly managed to bite back a groan. Her back welcomed the relief, but her guts were a mess of pained knots.

"Reiko, dear, just try and relax. The pain will be gone soon. And food should help." The nurse then moved to pull Shiina into a wheelchair. The teenager was grateful. At least it would be better than walking.

Wiping her tears away, Shiina gripped the wheelchair arms with a deathgrip as she was slowly wheeled towards the cafeteria. She gasped at the slight bump that came with rolling through a doorway. "What happened to me?"

"Don't remember? You had an emergency appendectomy." Shiina glanced down at her belly. Well, it was in about the same region, sort of. The nurse started speaking again, drawing back her attention. "There were some complications. I know, it's hard, but these things do happen."

She should not have expected any better. With Shou having to work as quickly as he had, and especially on an animal-like monster body, it was more surprising that she had survived the surgery at all.

Her nurse placed her at a small table and hurried to get her some breakfast. Shiina didn't know if she could force anything down, but she wasn't going to argue. Once the woman moved away, Shiina reached out with a trembling hand and grabbed the waffle, not worrying about utensils for now. Carefully, she brought the still warm waffle to her lips and took a small bite. Nibbles would be best. Now if only she could convince her body to stop trembling she would probably look at least half-way normal.

[Clone BF!! ♥]

[seekingmystrength]

Words about allergies and luck came at him in slow waves as he was led down the hallway, the ninja picking up on only parts of his nurse's ramblings. Whatever she was saying, drugged and dazed as he was, he knew did not matter. Another lie, another of Landel's games, and nothing that he cared for.

His shoulder still stung with a dull pain as he went, while his head throbbed steadily beneath a mess of fresh bandages. Strips of gauze wrapped around in a slant that blocked his left eye from view. He had tried to pull them off, but with the first screech of his nurse and the absence of a means to check, he'd consented that seeing what they'd done would change nothing. He'd been there, twice now, and if his arm was any measure, he knew exactly what the bandages would uncover.

It's not his, he repeated slowly through his mind, blocking out the nurse. He kept the same words as the nurse left him at a table, It's not.

[Tsubaki]

[she_is_ruin]

_{[For Klavier!]}

The weather that morning was cold, grey, and dreary, but that was really nothing new. The Institute always had a coldness to it that no amount of sunshine could dispel; a perpetrating chill that went deep into its very heart.

Yomi knew it more than most--could almost taste it--thanks in part to the sesshouseki. With the situation continuing to deteriorate due to the "infection" and the increasing number of deaths, the sesshouseki’s influence, if anything, was only growing much like a plant soaking up water. Fear. Blood. Death. Anger. They were all creature comforts for an entity so full of hatred as the kyuubi.

For Yomi, it was the same… or near enough. The hospital’s miserable atmosphere was more or less an open invitation for her to stretch her wings and assert herself.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of room for stretching in the tight-knit cage Landel had locked her in. It was hard enough trying to accomplish even small tasks, let alone anything of importance. Despite its flaws, working with the History Club had been more productive in the long run, which said something about her success rate as of late. Annoying. The previous night had been a perfect example of wasted time.

She’d waited for Albedo, longer than she should have. And what had come out of it? A whole lot of nothing.

Yomi didn’t spend time playing around with her nurse when the woman came to collect her for that morning’s breakfast; she proceeded into the cafeteria and found a seat for herself, leaving her food untouched in front of her. Although one half of her was disappointed at the lack of progress, the other half was curious (concerned?) about what had prevented Albedo from joining her as he’d said he would. Had something happened to the brother, maybe?

[freewill]

When he sensed a presence drawing close, Castiel lifted his head to find a familiar face before him. Aigis, the one who was also sick, but who looked in much better spirits than him at the moment. Didn't it figure, that her lack of concern had left her looking unaffected while he was confined to a wheelchair?

Of course, there was a chance that she'd already changed during the night only to revert at daybreak, and that she was hiding that remarkably well. She was an android, and thus capable of repressing her emotions much better than a human might.

But that was all speculation, and she had always been open with him. He could probably find out the truth before long.

At her question, he shook his head, though made sure not to engage in any dramatic movements. He didn't want his head to start pounding, or for the nausea to worsen. "I didn't have a night. I slept through it all." And that was still hard for him to swallow, the idea of an angel really sleeping, but he didn't need to share that with her. She probably understood just how odd it was, to sleep when you never had before.

[redcladidealist]

Oh. So he hadn't been reading the other's interest right. Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, then decided it wasn't that big a mistake to make. He didn't mind going ahead with the conversation anyway.

"Yeah," he said. "I've been here a couple days." He gestured at the two open notebooks. "This isn't really my work. I'm just copying some maps a friend of mine made. I, uh, sort of borrowed his journal." He still wasn't sure how he ended up back in his room still holding the journal. If he was carried back unconscious, wouldn't he have lost his hold on it?

The other man's eating reminded him of his own half-eaten plate of waffles, still sitting on the table a little to the right of the book he'd been drawing in. Setting the pen down, he picked up his utensils and forked a bite into his mouth. "What 'bout you?" he asked, swallowing - just as bad with his manners when it came to eating food.

[thecamellia]

No… no, no, no. Two more had… bitten the dust?

Tsubaki had been afraid of what the Head Doctor would report about the night’s events, but learning that two more people had been, at the very worst, killed…? It wasn’t worse than what she’d been expecting, but it was by far worse than what she’d been hoping.

Landel hadn’t specified, but under the circumstances it seemed likely he’d meant two sick people had become victims. Considering how many infected prisoners she knew, Tsubaki was fearful she was going to wake up to names she knew posted on the bulletin board. Leanne, she knew was safe, since Leanne had been with her the whole time… But what about Sora? And Kurogane? And Scar and Soma? They had to be safe, right? All of them?

Breakfast wasn’t a high priority by any means, but she was quick to head down to the cafeteria, anyway. She had to--she needed to--see for herself. See who was present. Who wasn’t.

Who was hurt, like Kurogane was.

The moment her eyes fell on him, she felt a mixture of bittersweet relief. He was alive, alive despite what Landel had said, but…

"What… happened?" The soft question left her lips as soon as she was close enough to be heard over the noise of the cafeteria. He looked awful, far worse than he had a mere two days ago. She almost didn’t want to know what could’ve happened to put him in such a state.

[rocksthecourt]

Wasted nights were an annoyingly frequent occurrence here, unfortunately. Last night had, for the most part, felt like an absolute lost cause. All he'd gotten out of it were some lackluster items, some insight on the more useless areas of the institute, and some fun facts about the water. Oh yes, and let's not forget that little bout of trauma and the bite to his ankle to complete the experience.

From the sound of Herr Doktor's last announcement of the night, however, other people had had it worse last night. Two people had died. At least. And it sounded like other people had been made to do it themselves. Likely due to this monster illness that had been plaguing the institute for a while now. Herr Doktor had never bothered to count when it came to incidents involving Special Counseling or the coliseum. It was sick, really. All of it. The fact that he actually mocked them all for it made it all that much worse, too.

That of course begged the question of just who was left alive this morning. How many people were still there? And what of those he knew personally? He knew a few people who had been sick, actually. Were they still alright? How much longer before they ended up going the same way? Dammit. It was moments like this that made him hate wasted time like last night most of all. There was no time! ...Spending all of his time fretting and thinking of time limits was only going to emotionally drain him, though. Impatient as he was, he needed to pace himself accordingly or else he would just waste more time. So he should just focus on gathering information and planning for tonight. ...And checking up on those he knew just to be certain of their status.

In fact, that was exactly what he decided to do when he reached the cafeteria. After he'd gotten his food, he scanned the room trying to find as many familiar faces as he could. A difficult task since it was still early and people were only filing in now.

There was at least one such person here already, though. Yomi. It had been several days since he had seen her last, but twist in his gut as soon as he saw her was just as raw as if it had only been yesterday. He still remembered it all vividly: how they had been trapped, that fantastical fight in the coliseum, how she'd been killed, the panicked and broken state she was in after somehow being brought back to life. It was a miracle for her even to be sitting there, but that did nothing to alleviate the memories.

Looking at her now, one would never know. She seemed fine enough sitting there. She didn't appear to be in any agonizing pain nor did she have any visible injuries. Even her expression seemed normal. Collected. Very different from the last time he'd seen her. That wasn't to say everything was fine with her, however. She was, as stated, just sitting there; not eating, just sitting. It looked like she was possibly lost in thought and there was a good chance it was due to something horrible. That was something he kept in mind as he approached her.

"Fräulein," he said, both as a way to bring her attention back to reality and as a greeting. The smile he offered was simple and gentle, an attempt to be sensitive considering what might be potentially bothering her. "Good morning. ...How have you been feeling?"

He did hope she felt comfortable enough to potentially speak to him about such things. Some women could be fickle when it came to things like this. Not that he was used to playing therapist for people, but he did hope that if something was upsetting her and she needed to cry to someone about it, she could consider him an available avenue. Heaven knows people need that in this place.

[dividedby]

At least Zero could (unknowingly) be glad that he was in good company as far as bad table manners were concerned. He could continue to talk with his mouth full in peace - like he was just about to do right now.

"A week," he answered before swallowing a second bite of food. So his assumption about the other man had been somewhat correct. It wasn't his first day, but he certainly hadn't been here for long, either. At least the man had already found a way to get some vital information...knowing where everything was located was a critical part of surviving here. But how much did he really know? How much had he experienced so far? Those things were also important. And Zero didn't mind explaining anything that needed to be explained, if necessary. Whatever would increase the chances of another's survival...

"So you've already seen what this place is capable of." The once-Reploid was going to assume that, by being here a couple days, the man already knew the basic rules of this place: days were structured and 'nice', and nights were a random test of survival, with the occasional 'all hell breaks loose' bonus round. 'Everything's unpredictable' was another good rule, but that one went without saying, especially when one was here long enough to constantly experience Landel's love for screwing them all over.

[seekingmystrength]

His head had sunk low enough that he may as well have been using the table as a pillow by the time Tsubaki's question reached him. His right arm had prevented as much, becoming a prop instead as well as a cover for his undamaged eye. He'd been blocking out everything before hearing her, and even with her question, he was reluctant to move his fingers enough to look. One red eye glanced up, then off a bit to finally spot the young woman.

Slowly he looked her over, seeing no signs that she'd been injured. Or none that he could tell. A good thing. If Landel wasn't against using him as a test subject despite making them his pawns, Kurogane could not rule out that the same wouldn't happen to her.

There was the one good thing that had come from last night: it hadn't been her.

"What didn't?" he ended up muttering before closing his eye back.

[ninelivesonce]

Taura came awake quickly, heart pounding, like (almost) always. The intercom was chirping away, and she frowned at it. They'd accomplished something, though; there was a potted plant on the corner of her desk looking cheerier than anything else in this place did. At least it was honestly happy to have water and old-fashioned buzzing lights. She tugged her fingers through her hair, getting the tangles out just in time for her morning shadow to show up.

There was a hush around the place that Taura couldn't identify until they'd made it into the Sun Room. Fog. Better now than last night; there had been a lot of people heading outside, some of them sick. They didn't have to worry about finding their way home, but it still could have been worse than two dead.

She put up a quick note, and then strolled into the cafeteria. No line, since appetites had been reduced to a bare minimum. She could take some of everything without a grumble, and there were plenty of seats. She slid into one diagonally across from a blond man who was almost as tall as she was, and began systematically reducing a pile of sausages and scrambled eggs to greasy rubble.