Day 71: Sun Room

[lighthearted]

For the first time in a long time, Sora woke up in a comfortable bed outfitted with sheets and pillows. It wasn't like the Landel's standard beds were even that nice, but after sleeping in various places in Farwell (generally not in anything bed-like), it was definitely a change.

Sora's eyes opened slowly -- blinking once, twice, and then taking in the white ceiling above him. Of course, he'd expected this. He'd asked for it, even. Now that he was back in the institute, though, he had to admit that he felt his stomach churn with the knowledge that he'd been caught once again, even if it was by choice.

That feeling was what got him up out of bed, but as he stood up he heard something fall to the ground. Right, it was that bone bracelet that the skeleton had given them! He'd said that it would take them right back to that underground lake area, which meant that Sora would be able to return to Farwell pretty easily. The question was, would he be able to take someone with him?

For now, though, he was really only focused on one thing, and that was getting back to his friends. Speaking of which, one such friend was laying in the bed opposite his. "Link," Sora said quietly, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to wake up his roommate. He'd just have to catch him later on in the day.

Instead, Sora quickly hid the bracelet, making a face as he was reminded of where the materials for it had probably come from. There wasn't much he could do about that, though.

A nurse stepped into the room and sent him a bright smile. "Matthew!" she greeted, as if he had never been gone. "Where would you like to go this morning, the chapel or the Sun Room?"

Sora needed to get to the bulletin board first and foremost, so the answer to that question was easy. The trip from his room to the Sun Room was one that he still remembered in perfect detail, but it was weird having to fall right back into this routine when he'd had a break from it for a few days.

Once there, Sora moved over to the bulletin, grabbing for a pen as he started to draft up a note. He was really looking forward to seeing all of his friends again, so it was too bad that none of them were here yet...

[For Tsurugi.]

Comments

[rebonding]

Korra awoke with a frustrated groan and a glare at the ceiling. She should have felt lucky to be alive after what had happened last night. Whatever that thing had been... any doubts she had had about the horrors Landel's Institute had to offer were gone.

And she had to be more careful with fire in the future. Korra had made a bad situation worse, and she knew it. She could only hope that no one else had gotten hurt because of it.

She looked around the hallways with a bit of unease as her nurse guided her to the Sun Room. There wasn't any sign of the fire to be found. She knew that the building "healed" itself, but...

It was still weird.

She was in the process of having a look around the various goings-on of the Sun Room when her nurse suggested that she go try to "make some friends." That story again, huh? Fine. With a questioning glance at her nurse, she flopped onto the couch next to Soushi with a nod and an apologetic glance as her greeting.

[ever_loyal_dog]

The woman approaching was not the one he was hoping for, but he still smiled in a friendly manner as she seated herself. His posture was a bit more stiff in contrast, a part of his training that never really went away. The young woman seemed to be a little older than Ririchiyo, and certainly a lot more athletic.

"Good morning," he offered, nodding in her direction. A handshake seemed a bit awkward from the differences in the way they were sitting, so he kept his hands folded in his lap.

"I'm Miketsukami Soushi."

[rebonding]

"Morning."

When Soushi offered Korra the friendly smile, she managed to muster up a more friendly expression. Positivity wasn't one of her strongest points when she felt completely powerless.

And Landel's was pretty good at doing that.

"I'm Korra." She introduced herself with a small bow as she sat. Korra was quiet for a moment, craning her neck to have another look around the sun room.

"So uh... you been here long?" Man, she felt like she was in jail! She supposed, though, that she was. She just hadn't done anything wrong.

[ever_loyal_dog]

"A pleasure to meet you Korra-san. Though I am sorry the circumstances are less than ideal," he apologized, giving a helpless shrug as he observed the girl.

"I've been here a few days is all," he admitted. Five days, to be more precise. Five days and approximately eight hours, thirty minutes and a handful of seconds since he last saw his beloved's face. That was, of course, if there was no long stretch of time between death and waking here. The seasons had certainly changed, but for him, just those five unbearable lonely days.

"And you? It sounds like we might have visitors today. I'm curious, have you had them before?"

[rebonding]

Another guy with the 'sans'... Korra did her best to ignore it, though she couldn't help but wonder why several of the people she'd met here called her that.

"I've only been here a few days..." She paused, frowning in thought for a moment. "What sorta 'visitors'?" Like people coming to see them because they were supposedly sick? That was weird... and fishy.

[ever_loyal_dog]

It sounded like he might not be able to get much information on the visitors from Korra, if she'd only been here about as long as he had. He supposed it was polite to keep up the pretense of conversation though. Perhaps he could ask on the bulletin to see if anyone could provide additional insight.

"I was hoping you might know, Korra-san. I've not had one, nor heard much of them. I would imagine they are another part of the farce this institution plays on," he supplied. Though, if they weren't convincing, what was the point? He could hardly be expected to believe someone he'd never met was some long-lost relative or friend come to call on him. Was it some sort of game of guilty conscience? An attempt to make them believe the made-up lives because they added a few characters?

"The head doctor had been rather vague in his announcements though, so it is hard to be certain."

[rebonding]

"Oh..." She turned away to glance around the room once again with a small frown.

"I've heard they get pretty intense with the whole 'fake lives' thing. You don't know if they..." She paused for a moment, slightly nervous, "if they actually pull people we know here, do they?"

She hoped not. More than anything, she hoped not. What if they had her mom and dad? Tenzin or Mako or any of the others? Korra swallowed nervously.

[ever_loyal_dog]

Korra seemed preoccupied, he noted, as she scanned the room again. It wasn't that he didn't feel just as anxious about those entering the Sun Room (or more particularly, those that hadn't arrived), but something seemed to be troubling her. Then again, wouldn't a normal human's response be troubled in this sort of situation? Soushi had precious little experience in that regard. Was Korra, in fact, a normal human?

"I cannot be sure either way, but some patients have suggested as much," he replied, with some small measure of honesty. Lingormr, in particular, had pressed upon him just how heavy a wish it might be for his loved one to be brought here. Soushi was still not certain how much he agreed.

"I suppose we shall just have to wait it out and see for ourselves."

[rebonding]

Still looking slightly concerned, Korra nodded and tried to push away the thought.

"So uh... Where're you from?" Because it seemed that everybody here was from someplace entirely different. And she didn't want to think about visitors right now.