Day 69: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

Patients might hear the wind blowing outside as the intercom turned on and they were gradually moved from the courtyard or somewhere surrounding the Sun Room and back to their rooms. The wind made a howling noise, something that almost seemed to hint at what was to come when darkness hit and night began.

But for now, everything was as pleasant as it always was during the day, with the Head Doctor chiming in to explain what was on the menu this evening.

"I'm sure you all had a nice, relaxing day as you continue on your journey toward good health, but now it's time to head back to your rooms and have dinner with your roommate before lights out. Tonight we're serving some seasoned salmon with rice pilaf on the side, and for those of you who are vegetarians we have a black eyed pea soup along with a dinner roll.

"Whatever you're having tonight, eat up and get some rest! We'll be seeing you again tomorrow!"

The nurses didn't say much about the fact that some patients had roommates who had been missing for a few days now. Normally there would be someone to take their place, but that didn't seem to be the case for a few people. The mystery behind that was clearly one that was going to remain unanswered, but at least the patients had a hot plate of food waiting for them on their desks.

[ Respond with your character's room number in the subject line. Check here if you don't know which room your character is in. ]

Comments

M20

[age_of_kings]

Enough was truly enough. Tolten sank into his desk chair when he was returned to his room, nervous and out of sorts as always but with renewed determination. He even started on his dinner, though he wasn't very hungry. He had a loose plan and he refused to simply whither away or...let this place have its way with him.

He supposed he should have planned better, but his thoughts were all over these days. And he'd never been very good at the planning parts of anything! It wasn't even about being successful, not at this point. It was simply about forcing himself to action, resetting his miserable mind and remembering who he was.

Which was all very easier said than done, of course, but the determination was there. And if he was successful...

At least he'd feel better, physically.

M39

[freewill]

While it was certainly a disappointment that Kratos hadn't made much progress when it came to finding a way out of the institute, Castiel had to admit that hearing that made him realize that he wasn't alone when it came to that. Kratos seemed like the ambitious type, so chances were that most of the patients had been caught up in fighting off the illness.

Now that the worst of that seemed to have passed, though, maybe everyone could get back to the true matter at hand. (Provided that Landel didn't throw another similar distraction at them, anyway.) Castiel had plans for the night, and while they weren't strictly focused on escaping, he did intend to explore as much as he could with Soushi.

For now, though, it was dinner time, and Castiel had something to take care of. The only response he'd received to his bulletin note asking if anyone was in need of a flower had been from Barnaby, indicating that Kobayashi was just one such person. Castiel had known that Kobayashi was likely ill, but the two of them hadn't spoken much in the past few days, so he hadn't thought to ask until now.

When he reached his room Castiel found it empty, so he sat down at his desk and pulled the flower out from his pocket. It was slightly crumpled, but hopefully it would still be effective. He placed it on the desk so that he could hand it over as soon as his roommate arrived. In the meantime, he gave eating another try. So far he'd kept down everything he'd had today by sticking to small portions, so he was going to continue in that vein.

M44

[redcladidealist]

By the time Lloyd's nurse led him back to his room, his stomach was growling audibly. A salad and a pear just hadn't been enough, but even after picking the tomato out of his sandwich, it had still turned his stomach to think of eating it. Besides, considering what that ghost-monster-whatever-it-had-been had done to Ed's sandwich, he'd figured the other boy would appreciate Lloyd's sandwich more than Lloyd would. He just hoped that dinner tonight would be something more appetizing.

The aroma that filled the air when Lloyd entered the room made his heart leap with joy and relief. Two trays sat waiting, one for him and one for his roommate, who wasn't in the room. Fish and rice, and no sign of tomato in it. His stomach rumbled loudly again, and he didn't even need the nudge from his nurse to make a beeline for his food.

His nurse chuckled from the doorway, then started to close the door. "Good night, Mr. Clarke."

And you know what? Right at that moment he was happy enough to lift a hand and wave back. "Good night!"

Re: M44

[earthling]

Although Claude had a lot on his mind by the time dinner rolled around, he admit to admit that he was glad to get a chance to eat before nightfall. Why he wasn't feeling weak after sleeping a whole day and missing out on basic necessities such as food was beyond him. But he figured there was no reason not to take extra care to get proper nutrition over the next couple of days.

When his nurse brought him to his room, he was glad to find Lloyd was still around. With how often roommates seemed to come and go, Claude knew better than to take his presence for granted.

He sure seemed awfully happy. As soon as the nurse closed the door behind her, Claude regarded Lloyd with a curious expression while he moved toward his desk.

"Hey," he greeted. "What's up?"

Re: M44

[redcladidealist]

"Hey, Claude," Lloyd greeted his roommate, still feeling relatively pleased. He grinned and held up a forkful of food by way of explanation. Claude already knew about Lloyd's preference, but in case he'd forgotten... "No tomatoes in it!" And with that, he happily stuffed the fork in his mouth, chewed for a moment, and...

...and stopped, a funny look crossing his face. Without swallowing, he stuck a finger inside his mouth, fishing around until he pulled out... a hair? A long strand of black hair that was most definitely not his. "Ugh, how'd that get in there?" And why did he feel like he was forgetting something very important? With a frown, he tried to pin down why he was suddenly feeling uneasy.

Wait. Wait a minute. He blinked and focused back on Claude, momentarily distracted. "Hey, you okay? You were asleep for a pretty long time." Asleep before Lloyd even got to his room last night, and still asleep when Lloyd's nurse came to take him to breakfast this morning.

Re: M44

[earthling]

Claude blinked. No tomatoes. Right. He had almost forgotten that Lloyd had a pretty strong reaction to those things. Come to think of it, lunch must have been a special kind of hell for him if he hated them so much. No wonder he was beaming.

Of course, that wasn't nearly as surprising as the long strand of hair that Lloyd pulled out of his mouth. His eyebrows shot up toward his bangs, betraying his shock. Oh, ew, he nearly said, but he thankfully held his tongue. That was still really gross, though. In fact, that little discovery very well may have killed his appetite.

The real kicker, however, was the way Lloyd could move so easily from that, to asking after Claude. Tomatoes in his food? Call the police, it's poison! A long, dark hair in his mouth, though? Eh, no biggie.

And some people thought Claude was a weirdo.

"Um, yeah, I feel okay," he managed to assure him after a brief pause. "More than okay, actually! Thanks for asking. And, uh, sorry if I worried you..."

Seemed like he was saying that a lot today.

M67

[asteroidbelt]

He was reasonably sure that had been the same door, he thought as he followed the nurse. It had been dark two nights ago; he'd merely glanced at the door briefly before going back in, not long enough to have noticed any detail. He hadn't expected he would have to.

It was when Ryusei looked up to find the nurse next to the door, waiting for him, that he had to admit to himself that he was dragging his feet. He straightened and braced himself before catching up in a few strides and entering the room.

He wasn't here. Ryusei released the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding, and went to sit at his desk. It couldn't be as bad as last night, he thought with some trepidation. For one, tonight Ryusei didn't feel as... loose. But did it matter what he was feeling right now? It had been yesterday that—

His grip was tightening on the fork; he forced himself to let go. Unfortunately for him, suppressing mortification was easier said than done.

M1

[armoredsoul]

Al had to rush to the bathroom as he was led to his room, leaving him not really in the mood to eat when the nurse closed the door behind him. Still, he needed food just as much as anyone else, and hopefully the food would finally stay down rather than any more hair coming up.

The hallucination he'd suffered earlier still worried him, left him wondering if it was just a hint of what was to come tonight. But Scar was in the room next to him, which was definitely a relief. Even if he got caught up with a monster trying to meet up with Ed, Scar would be able to back him up.

M2

[envy_the_sinners]

There was far too much buzzing about Scar's mind for him to think about at once. It was a great mess of thoughts and feelings twisting about in his mind that he couldn't even begin to sort out right now. He was exhausted and tense and he had died last night. How easy it had been to forget that fact after the day he had had!

There was the one blessing that Alphonse was only one door away, though. He would find him first thing; there was nothing better to do. And if it was true that the beasts were moving closer to the rooms...

What was safe, anymore?

He settled down to dinner, having finally regained some of his appetite. He needed to strengthen himself after being sick for several days. It wasn't any sort of dish he'd seen before, but that hardly mattered right now.

He was distinctly keeping and eye out for fingernails.

M79

[dividedby]

... Hmm...? Was it dinner already...?

The Head Doctor's annoying voice had worked its way into Zero's ears - a skill it was unfortunately very good at - and thanks to that, the former Reploid was now unhappily sitting up and rubbing his eyes, wondering what time it was. Since his nurse had forbidden him from showering to protect his bandaged injuries, he had decided to remain seated on this couch in order to keep an eye on the bulletin board. Had that really put him to sleep unintentionally? ...Oh well. Either way, the whole afternoon was wasted, and now the nurse was gently trying to get him up and into his crutches so that he could go eat some dinner. Groggily, Zero obeyed.

He was more awake by the time he reached the room, so instead of giving into any temptation to rest a little longer, he sat down at his desk and began to eat. He wasn't sure if his 'illness' was going to return tonight, but he was going to prepare himself for the worst anyway. And that involved filling his stomach as much as possible before the night came. It was the least he could do.

[impudentsongbird]

This day had been ... Gabriel wasn't sure what it had been. He'd been nervous. Jumpy. He remembered Skulduggery's description of that monster--the very same monster he and the others had run into last night. He wasn't even sure whether he'd actually hallucinated or not, he'd been so nervous about it happening at all.

He'd just known the shadows had seemed darker, his lunch less appetising, every cough and hitch in his lungs something to be worried over.

Which was why, when he entered his room, his stomach was flipping over itself with dread. He stood for a moment in the doorway to take a breath and hopefully calm himself down, and then mustered a smile for Zero. It was a poor affair, especially once he spotted the crutches. He'd missed them in the morning.

"How are you feeling?"

[dividedby]

The roommate came in not long after Zero got started on his dinner. Like yesterday, he resisted the temptation to look in Gabe's general direction; even if it wasn't technically night yet and he wasn't feeling any symptoms, he didn't want to take any chances. That would be why Gabe's anxiety and smile were going unnoticed.

...Though Zero supposed it was the least he could do to answer the man's question.

"Good enough," he said simply, only bothering to swallow the salmon in his mouth after he'd spoken. Likewise, the once-Reploid didn't speak again until after he'd paused to stuff another bite of food in his mouth. (Not that he was even remotely aware of his bad table manners...) "How are you holding up?"

[impudentsongbird]

There were so, so many ways Gabe could answer that question. Only one honest way.

"Not terribly well, to be honest," Gabe said bluntly, moving forward to come to his chair and eyeing his dinner unhappily. The sight of it made his stomach church with anxiety and apprehension. He glanced at Zero again with a frown. It seemed like every time he came back into the room his room-mate was getting worse in some way. Gabe had no reason not to offer help on this occasion--or any other.

"Do you need help tonight?" he asked with a furrow in his brow. "What happened the last?"

M3

[knightspirit]

Another day gone. Comparatively speaking, it hadn't actually been that bad, and not just for the fact that he'd spent the last shift napping. In face of how much strain he'd been putting himself under, his body really needed it, and by the time the nurse arrived to take him back to his room for dinner, he was still a little groggy, but physically, he was feeling better than he had in some time.

That in mind, he dug into his meal right away, determined to clean the plate; he'd already skipped a couple of dinners, which probably wasn't helping his energy or ensuring a quick recovery from his injuries. The room was silent for now, but thanks to the picture resting on his desk, it almost didn't feel that way. ... Almost. Still, it was better than nothing. He wasn't usually one to form sentimental attachments to objects, but this was about as close to home as he'd get in a place like this, and he'd take what he could.

M58

[fullmetalheart]

Ed didn't really say anything to his nurse when he was led inside. What was the point? Nothing she said mattered. He just tuned out whatever she was chattering about in order to mull over the events of the day.

Once he was in his room and at his desk, he poked suspiciously at his food for a moment. After finding no surprises this time, he started eating quickly as he thought about what to do tonight.

Re: M58

[firewhichrefines]

It had been unpleasantly reminiscent of his Academy days -- not just any Academy, but the Academy of prepubescent would-be ninja whispering and failing to pay attention in class and going down all-too-easily in the dust during spars -- to find himself passing notes back and forth with Aidou, as if the bulletin board posts announcing their plans for the night to all and sundry weren't bad enough. Sasuke consoled himself with the awareness that at least they had worked together for so long that it was comparatively easy to fall into step once they managed to find each other during the night shift.l

Unwilling childishness aside, it appeared that his roommate had had less pleasant a day of it -- Sasuke glanced up from his meal to see Edward prodding at his food, clearly deeply suspicious, before eating. An odd way to express dissatisfaction with the offering, Sasuke thought, and commented: "If the food is poisoned, nobody managed to find out how yet."

Re: M58

[fullmetalheart]

"It's not poison I'm worried about," Ed muttered between bites of food.

"Seems that the ghost thing my brother and I has ways at getting to us during the day," Ed finally said after a few more minutes. He wasn't sure why he was bothering to explain; he doubted his room-mate cared all that much.

M16

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar eased into his seat, setting his tray on his desk, unfortunately disinterested in the meal it carried- he had no doubt that was both frustration and the medicine talking, the pills issued to him to ease the pain in his hands having kept his mind in a fog all day. They were healing, and were far better than they had been a mere few days before; however, they still weren't ready for all he needed them to do, every movement that pulled on the skin causing enough pain to make him grit his teeth, his body tensing to bite it back. With what dangers the night held, he knew he'd need every bit of strength he had. They all would.

That was if they progressed at all; between sickness and the creatures Landel had roaming the hallways, his party had yet to even set foot inside the basement. While much had changed in the course of only a week— people lost, patients emerging as monsters, his own health put in jeopardy from a power he could hardly control, as much as he didn't want to admit it— it seemed he and his comrades had hardly gotten anywhere in the past several nights. He knew some of that was on him, his injuries keeping them from moving too far too fast, his wounded hands hardly able to grip his improvised weapon while the stitches in his neck felt like a collar drawn too tight.

While he'd be no good to them either dead or with permanent injuries, he would have preferred they did as much as they could with what time they had. There was no telling which night would be the last for any one of them. The stakes were too high.

[stellarregions]

Gren had let the day wash over him in a daze. He should have cared more, and he knew it, but he felt as if he was just marking time here, especially during the daylight hours, when the facade of normality made everything just that much harder to bear.

He needed to fight it, but he felt so exhausted by it all, mentally and physically, and he found himself frequently wondering if it was worth it all. It wasn't as if he had any hope of going home--that was a dead end. And if all he wanted was to escape all of this, well. He had a knife, now. The means to free himself, awful as the option was, was there.

It was easy to stay wrapped up in his own misery, and walking into the room with his diner, seeing Edgar there, was almost like a slap in the face. He had been self-absorbed, recently, had managed to not really notice how bad off the other man seemed, though it was obvious now. He set his tray down, took his see, and sat quietly for a moment.

"Hey."

He wanted to ask, to broach the subject of what might have happened, but the dull ache of the bandaged wounds on his own chest reminded him that things happened here that people might not want to discuss, and he couldn't quite find the right words, in the end.

[girlsandgadgets]

"Gren," Edgar addressed with a nod in greeting. It had been some time since they'd talked at any length, dinners usually passing in silence, Edgar absorbed in his concerns with Locke's transformation, Ryuuzaki's possible infection, and his own injuries. Yes, he had a lot on his mind, but he also needed to keep in contact with those allies who had managed to survive the nightly events Landel threw at them- there was no telling when they would be gone, or when he would need their help. To be so preoccupied was unbecoming of him, especially when it came to Gren. His roommate had proved useful, especially on the night they'd fought the undead beast, earning themselves a relic in the process.

The only way to fix things was to take steps toward it, Edgar noted inwardly. He was in pain and had a lot on his mind, but the chances were Gren was in a similar state, especially with what he knew of his roommate's history. The military's presence had been hard on him, but it wasn't as though much had been easier since their disappearance.

"I should apologize for how preoccupied I've been lately," he started.

F15

[rebonding]

Her first full day in prison. At least the people seemed nice enough, on the whole. As Korra shuffled into her room, it all hit her at once. She was stuck here without her friends and her family, and nobody knew where to find her.

The only connection she had left was the one she shared with Aang. They couldn't block that, could they?

She sat down to her dinner with a huff. She'd have to squeeze in some time to meditate; that was what Tenzin would have said.

And she had actually started listening to him a little bit.

[thecamellia]

Tsubaki hadn't had much luck making contact with people over the course of the day, and worry dogged her heels on her way to dinner. She knew Scar was all right, which was a relief, but what had happened to Kurogane and Leanne? Had they just not been reading the bulletin that day? Had their cure worked?

On the flip side, what if it hadn't worked?

She gave her nurse a smile as the woman opened the door ahead of her, the expression becoming a little bit brighter when she entered and found Korra inside. She hadn't heard from Korra either, but the good thing about sharing a room was that there was guaranteed time to see each other at least once a day. Unless a roommate had disappeared, of course.

"Hello, Korra-san," she offered at first.

[rebonding]

Korra was already wolfing down her dinner when Tsubaki returned. She waved, swallowing a mouthful of fish before responding.

"Hey, Tsubaki."

She honestly hadn't even thought of checking the bulletin board. Who would be sending her a message, anyway?

M10

[idolism]

"Journey toward good health." Hmph. Had Landel achieved the results he'd wanted with the monster transformations, then, or had he truly only grown bored with them?

At his desk, Aidou frowned to himself, idly twirling his fork between his fingers. The fact was, the sadist had managed to insert devices inside of people--allegedly, anyway. Though Aidou had not lied to Aigis about the risks surgery posed, the fact remained that even those who cured themselves might still have the object inside them. A rather hollow cure, if so. The vampire could at least be assured that nothing seemed amiss with himself, but neither did that change the knowledge of what Landel was capable of.

Anyone, at any time, was at risk of having their very physiology altered. Not a comforting pill to swallow at all.

M7

[his_legacy]

Why did they continue to set up a plate for Sora? To make Link feel worse?

Probably.

It had been a lazy, uneventful day for Link. He was returning out tonight with Soma, the Once-ler, and Lingormr, which would be good. Hopefully they got farther than they had last night. That beast in the kitchen had been a nightmare, especially without proper equipment. He really needed to set out to find raw materials for that Alphonse boy to work with, but he had missed the chance with the trip to the courtyard.

Link sat down at his desk with his dinner, eating quickly and getting himself well fueled for the coming night.