Day 69: Breakfast

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar scowled, both relieved and angry that he had woken up once again in his own bed. That lanky man who had become his new roommate on the night of his death was sound asleep one bed over.

This was coming to be the new "normal." It was infuriating.

As always, he begrudgingly followed his nurse into the cafeteria and took a seat. He preferred to file in with the majority of the patients in order to avoid sticking out, but no such luck this morning.

Scar stared at his food rather than starting in on it, despite the newly found appetite that had been lost thanks to that blasted sickness. He had a lot to think about. He hadn't managed to find Frank last night. The damn intercom had beaten him to it. And judging by Tsubaki's reaction to him, he had been out for at least a day's time. How many had noticed? Cared? It couldn't have been many.

But it was the few who did whose detection Scar was desperate to avoid.

[Eddyyyy!]

Comments

[his_legacy]

Link jumped up out of his chair the moment he felt the other man trip, taking gentle hold of his shoulders to make sure he didn't lose his balance completely.

"Are you alright?"

[impudentsongbird]

For several seconds Gabe didn't answer, because he was too busy making sure that his food was all still on his tray and he was actually properly balanced. "I think so," he managed after a moment, wishing his fingers weren't trembling so hard with adrenaline. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

His food was safe--his drink had wound up all over his arm and on the floor. Very carefully, Gabe put the tray down on the table and then straightened, holding his wet arm away from him while glancing around for a napkin.

[his_legacy]

"No, it's alright!" Link helped him steady his tray. "This isn't exactly the kind of place that lends well to focus."

And gods knew Link wasn't a morning person. It happens.

Link retrieved several napkins and began to clean up the mess. He handed a few to the stranger for his arm.

[impudentsongbird]

At that, Gabe could only laugh, quietly and shortly, but with a startled kind of amusement that was nevertheless relieving. Tension had to be released somewhere, and Gabriel much preferred this way. "No, it isn't."

He took the napkins, making a face at the stickiness, but felt oddly better at the sheer mundanity of the problem. Satisfied he wasn't going to spread the juice around, Gabe crumbled the napkins and finally sat. "Thank you. I'm Gabe, and you?"

[his_legacy]

"Link," he said with a smile, finishing up with the floor. "Want me to see about getting you another juice?" He vaguely indicated the serving area.

[impudentsongbird]

"It's my pleasure." Reaching down to help Link up, Gabe glanced toward the serving area. He could go get the juice himself, technically, except--he really didn't want to bother with the nurses right now. 'Friends', Landel had said. How many of them had been the staff, brainwashed and and violent?

He shook his head. "No. Never mind; I can manage without any this morning. Come and join me?"

It was a request, rather than an order, and Gabriel gave him a hopeful, oddly self-conscious smile. He felt hyper-aware of everything and frustratingly vulnerable at once. Maybe having someone to talk to would help his nerves.

[his_legacy]

"Of course." Link gave another friendly smile and picked up his tray from the table. He needed to expand his radius of friends and allies.

They vanished far too quickly to be taken for granted, and socializing was a perfect way to keep from being pestered by the nurses.

[impudentsongbird]

"Thank you," Gabe said, relief written all over his face as he shifted a little across to give Link some room and turn toward him. "How long have you been here?"

A lot of the people to whom he'd spoken had only been there a few days longer than him. Finding someone who had been there a while might give him some more information. Then again, as helpful as that would be, part of Gabe wished he hadn't sprung so easily to that goal. "Where are you from?"

[his_legacy]

"Nearly a week now. I come from the village Ordon, south of Hyrule."

He wasn't expecting Gabe to know, but it was worth a try.

"You?"

[impudentsongbird]

A week. Longer than Gabe. Long enough to seem like forever, and yet no time at all.

"I just came from California," he said. Which he had. One of its beaches. He just wasn't from there, exactly. But he didn't recognise Link's hometown either, and that fact made the Archangel's eyes light up just a little more, his head tilting in genuine fascination. "I've never heard of it. Tell me about it? What sort of place is it?"

[his_legacy]

"I have never heard of California, either." It wasn't surprising by any stretch.

"I come from a small village, where I worked on a ranch. It was nothing like here, that is for certain. Or technology was different, I suppose." Landel's Institute was so far advanced from Hyrule's that Link could not even tell that this place was thousands of years ahead of his home. It all just seemed like magic to him, even though Alphonse had explained how elektrisity worked.

[impudentsongbird]

Gabe grinned. "Then we've each got something new to share, don't we?"

That was good. Gabe enjoyed meeting new people, hearing new things--and the latter really didn't happen very often. It was hard to hear things he didn't already know when he'd been around for as long as he had.

"What sort of ranch was it?" he asked. "What did you do there?" He could guess the technology-level. There was something charming about the days long past, but then again, that was coming from the perspective of not needing to worry about most of the things that made life a few centuries ago so uncomfortable.

[his_legacy]

"Of course." Link returned the smile. He didn't feel right, talking about pointless things like their homes when there was essentially a war going on, but what could they do during the day?

"It was small. I herded goats, mostly, as well as helping with maintenance of the fences and the barn." It had rarely been hard work; Ordonians were very laid back people.