Day 69: Sun Room

[rebonding]

[From here]

Korra wandered into the Sun Room while rubbing her hair dry with a small towel. The shower had been nice, at least. She had wanted her nurse to take her outside, but apparently there would be none of that for the moment. The "adults" were out there. What were they doing that they couldn't let her go outside, too?? She wasn't used to this, being cooped up. It reminded her of her time in the sewers.

She flopped down onto one of the couches, keeping an eye out for someone to chat up. Sure, her social skills weren't exactly 'honed,' yet, but that didn't mean she didn't want to talk to people. There wasn't anything else to do here, anyway.

[Barnaby!]

Comments

[knightspirit]

Breakfast had ended up surprisingly light, so by the time breakfast rolled around, Kyousuke was in decent spirits. It seemed that, in the face all of the horrible things that happened since he got here, he was beginning to recover and get his priorities back in check. His air of confidence was returning as well, which was good; that was the way things had to be. He had to assume as much control over his own situation as possible.

A shower did sound appealing at the moment, but since the cuts in chest still ran pretty deep, the nurse seemed to think it was best if he pass this time. Privately, he agreed but not for the same reasons. He could probably avoid the sting if he were careful about it, but in the absence of stalls, he could do without exposing to everyone who happened to glance over how beaten up he was. So instead, he was lead to the Sun Room, and contented himself to skim the bulletin for now, although there was nothing particularly interesting or helpful up at the moment.

[ free ]

[dividedby]

The end of breakfast came with some disappointment as X, simultaneously Zero's friend and excuse to ignore his overly chatty nurse, ended up being separated from him whether he liked it or not. Why? "For your benefit," the nurse had said. "You shouldn't talk to the same person all day. You need to be more social! It'll help you recover, trust me."

The irritated former Reploid couldn't help but think that was actually an excuse for the nurse to cut into any serious conversation he wanted to have with X. She wasn't exactly subtle about her dislike of him being with either X or Harpuia for long...yet it was never the same with anyone else. Had she purposefully been ordered to make his planning strategies with friends from home more difficult? Possibly. Or possibly the nurse was just being as innocently (and inconveniently) 'helpful' as usual. Both conclusions seemed equally likely.

Either way, it didn't change the fact that now he was having to deal with lectures on how 'fresh air is good for the body' and 'I know it's hard to walk, but exercise is still important' and just be quiet already, I don't care. Yes, he was injured, and he had crutches. But he didn't need her help, nor did he need all this pestering. Why did she never listen to him?

...So, once again, Zero was eager for a distraction that would save him from his nurse's endless chatter. The bulletin board made for a good one, as it was on the way to the Courtyard and therefore convenient. (And it helped that he'd posted something on there before breakfast, so he had an excuse to take his sweet time checking on it.) Even better, he discovered that there was a second distraction to be found at the board: someone standing there who caught his eye for a few reasons. It was the boy Zero remembered attacking that night he'd been brainwashed; that was reason enough to notice him. He was also clearly injured, if those scars on his arms were any proof. Wonder what happened to him...

Zero stared at the boy, but said nothing just yet. (Mostly because he wasn't exactly sure what to say.)

[knightspirit]

Unsurprisingly, Kyousuke wasn't the the only checking the messages, and between the people coming and going from the board, and finding nothing of interest on it, he was considering leaving to find a couch to lounge on for the time being. Soon, however, a young man limped his way over on a pair of crutches, and something tugged at his memory, though he he couldn't be sure what. At the very least, he was sure he didn't know anyone who looked like this. The way he was being stared at, however, seemed to suggest otherwise, and the boy frowned, crossing his arms. ... Well, it couldn't hurt to ask.

"... Sorry, but have we met somewhere?" the boy asked strangely.

[dividedby]

Zero held his silent stare for a bit longer (and if any awkwardness was created as a result, he was of course completely unaware of it). Did the boy...really not remember? That night, when Zero had tried to seriously injure him, or worse? He would've thought such an attack would be hard to forget...

...Then again, Zero had been in his Reploid body then, whereas now he was back to being human. When he put that into consideration, he could understand the lack of recognition.

Either way, a reminder was obviously necessary. With his nurse within earshot, however, Zero was going to refrain from mentioning any 'improbable' specifics right now...just in case she decided to jump in, as she'd done occasionally during breakfast. It was less for security and more to prevent her from being more annoying than usual. "We have," he said simply. "Do you remember...a dream about a robot who tried to attack you in a field during the night?" (He'd paused for a moment to catch himself before going off and describing things too literally. And in case that statement confused the boy, Zero subtly nodded his head in the nurse's direction.)

[knightspirit]

Kyousuke lifted a brow at the continued stare, but odd as it was, he'd always had strong nerves, so he didn't even blink until the stranger got to their point. Robot in a field...? ... Right, that explained it. It had been dark, and he hadn't seen the person's entire face, among other differences, but now that it was being told to him like this, it certainly seemed to fit. ... So, this had been the guy who'd attacked them.

"... I see," he responded after a pause. "I think we already discussed that, but we could find a seat, if you'd like." Somewhere a little more out of earshot, as to not have to deal with the irritation of disguising what they were talking about. Or maybe the stranger had nothing to say on the matter at all, which was fine. Either way, Kyousuke wasn't particularly phased.

[gald_digger]

[from here]

Having just showered, Anise’s pigtails drooped a bit from the dampness. But the girl herself was feeling refreshed and energetic. She bounded over to where the bulletin board stood, and as always, she started reading as much as she could make sense of. Guy had left a note for Claude and Luke, but there was no reply yet… That was kind of worrying. At least it sounded like Ilia was doing well.

Come to think of it, the last time Anise talked to Ilia was when she was really sick and terrified that she wasn’t going to get better. Maybe it would be a good idea to find Ilia soon and let her know she was feeling better. Everyone could use some good news once in a while, especially in a place like this.

[for Ilia!]

[avengingfists]

Ilia had actually planned on writing a message herself. Having woken up with booze on the brain she honestly couldn't get the idea out of her head. And a break was definitely in order, considering how tired she had been lately. A little party tonight was probably just what the doctor ordered.

Fully intent on posting a message to invite others to her bar that night, Ilia headed over to the bulletin board and found herself coming up behind a familiar set of pig tails. "Hey, Anise! Long time, no see."

Memories of their last meeting, however brief it might have been, left her with a sense of relief. If Anise was still here, that means she had at least been safe the last couple nights. She found herself smiling easily at her young friend.

[gald_digger]

"Whoa!"

Anise spun around, startled by the familiar voice that called her name. The surprise quickly subsided, and she gave a small sigh as she calmed herself. She was probably going to have to explain that reaction. Really though, the moment she started thinking about Ilia, she just showed up that very second! How weird was that?

"... Eheh, sorry," she began awkwardly, managing a grin. "I just saw your note and was thinking we should catch up soon. Weird timing, huh?" But maybe in a good way, since this was just what Anise wanted. "You can probably tell, but I'm feeling a lot better now." It was kind of embarrassing to think back to what an emotional wreck she was the last time they'd talked. Now that all that fear and danger was behind her, it was hard to remember just how hopeless she had felt.

[avengingfists]

The startled reaction wasn't what Ilia had been going for and she cringed, offering the girl an apologetic look. "Sorry, sorry! I should have come up from the side or something."

She chuckled. "Seriously? Must have been a sixth sense acting up." It wasn't uncommon for teenage girls to be sensitive, after all.

The news caused Ilia's brows to raise and she moved forward to give her young friend a hug. "I'm really glad to hear that, Anise." She held her for a moment, then pulled back, smiling. "How are Guy and Claude holding up?"

[gald_digger]

A sixth sense? That would be nice, but if Anise had one of those, she wished it worked better at detecting danger, or money, or something useful like that.

Ilia was as happy as she expected to hear the news. As the woman hugged her, Anise felt that initial wave of relief rushing over her again. She really managed to avoid a horrific situation... A few days ago, it would have been hard to imagine that she'd be back to smiling and joking with people again so soon.

Anise returned her smile as she answered the question. "Claude's better too. And Guy's as reliable as always!" Well, she was a little worried about Claude after he slept through the night, but it was too early to start alarming people about that. "How about you? What have you been up to?"

[baniichan]

When he woke up to discover he'd slept late and missed breakfast, Barnaby knew he shouldn't have been surprised. His nurse clucked over him, pointing out that he hadn't been quite the same since his "incident" in the sun room two days ago.

Knowing that he'd lost his composure enough to get sedated and sent to bed was humiliating enough. Now he had to deal with the fact that the nurses would likely be keeping an even closer eye on him out some misguided concern that he'd have another panic attack. Not only that, but he'd be shocked if they let Kotetsu within twenty feet of him now that they'd likely deemed him a hindrance to Barnaby's mental stability.

If there was any consolation at all, it was that he hadn't actually been disciplined, unlike Kotetsu. But that meant very little in the grand scheme of things. They weren't any closer to finding a way out of this place. He'd lost everything he'd worked for and apparently didn't even remember the full extent of it. For the first time in his life, he was relentlessly plagued by self-doubt. Nothing made sense anymore, and Kotetsu wasn't doing anything to help that.

In fact, his last several conversations with Kotetsu seemed like they were just a dream. With each passing day, Barnaby felt less connected to reality. Lately he wondered how long it would take before he lost his mind altogether.

His nurse's maternal voice cut into his thoughts. "You look pretty pale, dear. Maybe you should get some fresh air."

To be honest, staring out at the dead grass and the trees, stripped bare by winter, wasn't relaxing to him in the slightest. When Barnaby politely declined her suggestion, she should have been able to leave it at that. But, no -- her eyes immediately scanned the sun room for something else to occupy his time.

Great.

Barnaby didn't even have to guess what she'd do next, and it was with a quiet resignation that he allowed her to lead him over to one of the couches, where a young woman was resting.

"Janet," she said with a sunny smile, "this is Bruce Banks." She turned to Barnaby. "Bruce, Janet just arrived yesterday, so she could probably use some company. Maybe you can even make friends with each other."

His polite smile didn't betray the fact that he simply didn't make friends. Even when she turned and walked away to leave them alone together, Barnaby's pleasant expression didn't falter. Despite how brittle and worn he felt on the inside, he'd spent way too many hours in front of the mirror practicing facial expressions to forget something so basic.

Once the nurse was out of earshot, he corrected her in way of greeting. "My name is actually Barnaby Brooks Jr." He didn't immediately look at "Janet", however, but instead took a moment to get a better idea of how the staff were positioned throughout the room.

[rebonding]

"I'm Korra," she replied with a smile shortly after shooting a glare at the nurse.

...What kind of a name was 'Barnaby?'

"They always give that speech? Tell us to make friends?" Korra snorted.

[baniichan]

Barnaby mentally filed away the name for future reference, but made no comment on it. After all, there was little use in stating the obvious fact that the staff refused to use their real names.

"I'm afraid so," he dryly answered. "You'll get used to hearing it soon enough."

Almost every daytime activity seemed to focus on social rehabilitation (whether necessary or not) or some other inane therapeutic treatment, like planting flowers or drawing pictures. The happy environment, however, was marred anytime a "problem patient" lashed out at the staff, only to be quickly sedated and sometimes even confined.

Quack medicine at its finest, but that was hardly surprising.

[rebonding]

"Something makes me doubt that," Korra huffed, slouching down in her chair. Maybe everyone else could be fine with this- being told of a false identity, that they're all crazy... She wouldn't put up with it.

The sentiment was obviously an empty one. There was nothing to be done about it, which naturally only made her crankier.

"You been here long?"

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

The sun room was unusually quiet; during showers, it often filled up with people who preferred conversations only take place when all parties were clothed. Or who wanted to talk to members of a different sex.

Not for the first time, she wondered what the Institute would do if it grabbed someone who didn't fit either of the categories. Well. Without being an android or an alien so different that it wasn't relevant, that was. Change them, like the changes she had undergone? The ones that made her look human. It wasn't like that gave one any material advantage in fighting.

Where was everyone? There was barely anything on the board, too. Had there been more deaths? Her good mood was draining rapidly into worry, and, without quite realizing it, she'd started pacing back and forth near the bulletin.

[Rita]

[overlimit]

[from here]

Rita’s hair was still damp from the shower, and she walked with a limp, but she paid little attention to either of those things as she re-entered the Sun Room, looking around purposefully.

Taura had to be around somewhere. If anyone needed to know about what happened to Goku, it was her. And maybe she’d be able to shed some light on how and why it happened, too. Fortunately, it was easy enough to spot her pacing around by the bulletin. She looked almost nervous. Had something else gone wrong, or had she somehow been tipped off about the bad news Rita had for her?

Rita approached, stopping in front of the woman. “Hey, Taura. We need to talk,” she began, not about to waste any time. “It’s important.”

[ninelivesonce]

Rita was limping, and her expression was serious. More serious. Something bad had happened, and it was quite possibly Taura's fault; she'd been sitting on a damn cure for two nights, sound asleep. It wasn't under her control, she wanted to plead, but that didn't matter. It should have been under her control.

"Mmm. Let's...in here," she said, taking a few swift strides to one of the doors. No one was listening or playing in the music room, and one of the dubious privileges of having been to the arena was that they could speak privately.

[to here]

[fullmetalheart]

[From here.]

After Ed got out of the shower, Ed wandered over to the bulletin board, scanned it over, and put up his own note.

That done, he headed over to a couch and flopped down on it, arms resting on the back, and headed tilted back, eyes shut. He idly wondered if he could get in a nap before he was herded off elsewhere again.

Ed also mulled over the events of breakfast. Scar's appearance proved that death wasn't necessarily permanent although he had no urge to risk it. It would be just his luck if it turned out to be so for him. He also tried to work out how he felt about seeing the man.

[Free!]

[armoredsoul]

[from here]

Al came in a while after Ed, and spotted him on the couch in quick order. He headed over and sat down beside him, indulging himself a little and leaning back against his brother's shoulder. "I think that monster did something to me."

[fullmetalheart]

So much for his sense of calm. Ed opened his eyes to look over at Al, worry in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

He also hoped that Al would somehow not notice his bandaged arm.

[armoredsoul]

"I threw up at breakfast, and there was a mass of hair in it." He looked over, then startled when he saw the bandage on Ed's arm. "Brother, your arm! You weren't hurt last night, what happened?!"

[firewhichrefines]

[[from here]]

He'd either done a less thorough job with the towel than he'd thought, or his hair had grown in the space between abduction and now: Sasuke found himself wiping drops of water off his neck considerably more frequently than expected (and ignoring his nurse's admonitions that he was liable to catch a cold). Normally he just lopped off what was inconvenient with a kunai, but he'd been here so long ...

So long and without a blade. Perhaps he'd take off the longest parts of his bangs tonight, keep them out of his eyes. For now, he tilted his head back to focus (and his eyes were definitely healing thoroughly: he could focus without the twinge of pain, now) on the notes at the top of the board.

Disappearances, questions, the usual thinly-veiled encryption. Were there fewer hands than there had been, before?

[[backthread for Soma]]

[madeinthehrl]

Soma's nurse did her best to urge her outside, but the memory of the lake was still fresh in her mind, and as high as her cold tolerance normally was, she didn't have any desire to repeat the experience. That, and the old surgery scar, a few days old now, still twinged a little when she moved. It was probably better if she stayed inside, whatever her nurse said.

The Sun Room was already busy when she entered. Soma recognized a few familiar faces, but she ignored them for the moment in favor of checking the bulletin board. Link had left a message to their basement team, and she paused to scribble a reply. Her arm brushed another patient as she leaned forward to put it up.

"Sorry," she said automatically.

[firewhichrefines]

The voice wasn't one he knew out of a crowd, but that pale hair was distinctive enough that if Sasuke wracked his visual memories -- and there had been an astonishing quantity over the past two days, even with the limitations of the initial recovery phase -- he was reasonably sure he'd seen her around. He acknowledged the apology with a short nod, less concerned with the touch than the purpose.

This patient had obviously here long enough to make use of the bulletin board more than Sasuke had in his weeks here, and his nurse had been reluctant even to read the notes that had been addressed to him (and those had diminished over time to encompass only the occasional terse message Aidou posted). If nothing else --

"There are fewer notes than there have been in the past," Sasuke said, gaze sweeping the board again without bothering to linger on whatever message the girl had just added. "Have you noticed?"

[madeinthehrl]

Soma looked up, a hint of surprise passing across her features. The boy she'd bumped into looked a little younger than she was, and she was certain she'd seen him around before at least a few times. She hadn't expected him to address her, but it wasn't as if she were opposed to a conversation.

"Yes," she said. No need to ask the standard questions about how long he'd been here. By the sound of it, he was as least as much a veteran as she was. "But there are fewer patients, too. Especially since the last few nights."