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

[avengingfists]

Ilia had just poured a small packet of syrup over her pancakes when she heard the chair across from her being pulled back, scrapping slightly against the tile flooring. Looking up, she was surprised to see a familiar face. One she hadn't seen in a long time at such close quarters.

She gave the older man a smile. "It sure has! Almost feels like it's been months since we last talked." She shook her head. "So much happens every single day. It's almost like time just blurs together...."

The scientist cut her stack of pancakes with her fork, then speared the bite-size slice with the prongs. She twirled it in the syrup on her plate, then spoke contemplatively. "I met you on my first day here, Kratos. It's almost strange to think about." Her eyes dropped to the arm that had been in a cast at the time of their first meeting but she didn't stare. "How have you been?"

[forsworn]

[idk if you want to backthread, but since we didn't get very far...!]

Kratos also began cutting his pancakes down to size, partially just to keep his hands occupied. "I forgot I held that honor," he said, one corner of his mouth twisting wryly. It had been long enough that he couldn't even remember what had happened at that first meeting, just that they had talked over some meal or another. Ilia's eyes were on his arm, though, a subtle hint at how he'd been then.

"I've been better - but worse as well. These past few days have been taxing." Only one lie this time: he was improving.

One pancake now cut into a large pile of nearly identically-sized squares, Kratos picked one up with his fork and ate it. "You?"

[avengingfists]

[Fine with me if you don't mind my slow 8D;;;]

She released an amused huff. "You would. Not very detail-oriented, huh?"

It was just as well. Their first meeting had been a little awkward, but at least he seemed to have forgiven her the act of cutting food for him. She tilted her head to the side. "About the same for me. Doing a little... spelunking, actually. Can't say much about that, but..."

She wouldn't have trailed off, but the mental block kept her from saying more. She shrugged. "Sleeping a lot, too, but I'm gonna start changing that soon. I don't need any of the kids worrying about me with so many worse things to occupy us."

[forsworn]

[Trust me, "slow" is becoming my middle name]

"I simply remember what's necessary," Kratos replied with a shrug, spearing a piece of pancake and eating it in one bite.

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of spelunking; that was a nighttime activity he'd never heard before. "Really. Spelunking. How did you get into that?" Ilia wasn't being very forthcoming about her strange escapade, and Kratos suspected that was not necessarily by choice, but he had to try for more information anyway. It would be something else to look into after he'd checked that book.