Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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Claude fully agreed with that sentiment. He wouldn't want to be separated from his friends in such a way, even if it wound up costing him his life. His final meeting with his father had proved that, and Claude didn't regret it for a moment. Even after everything that happened, he would have gladly left that communicator back in Eluria Tower if he had to do it all over again.

The way Guy shrugged off the comment about the place was rather admirable in Claude's eyes. Here was a man who seemed sure of himself. It was likely he knew how to take care of himself, too, if he didn't lose his head over a place like this. Still, Claude had a feeling Landel's took its toll on everyone sooner or later. Seeing Dias' emotional breakdown last night had been a real eye-opener in that regard. He just hoped it didn't happen to anyone else anytime soon.

"I guess I'll have to do some improvising of my own, too, then," Claude said after a moment. "Maybe I'll have a bit of your luck and not get too hurt." He'd had military training, so that would come in handy. At least, he hoped it would. "All of my friends are already armed with something, so I don't want to hold anyone back."

He shook his head a little when he took a sip of his drink. "It's pretty strange. This planet is actually my home. I'd spent so much time trying to come back, and as soon as I decide I'm not ready go, I wake up to find this awful place."

[nobleman]

So neither of them had weapons. That was a bit discouraging, especially since Guy was pretty sure Luke didn't have anything, either. Peony had made some use of a bat, so that might work until he could get his hands on something better, but a bat didn't really compare to a sword. It couldn't slice into the monster's weak spots.

It was good to hear that Claude's friends had found weapons, though, and he nodded to the other boy. "Right, well... At least you know you'll be protected." Though if Guy were in that situation, he wouldn't have liked it very much. He was used to protecting, not the other way around. "But you probably want to pull your own weight, right?" For some reason, Claude just seemed like the type.

Guy got admittedly a little confused at Claude's words about planets and going and coming. He watched him carefully for a moment before leaning forward in his seat. "So this planet is your home? But you were somewhere else?" Did that mean that he knew how to travel between different planets? Guy had accepted that this world was not Auldrant, but to think that there were some worlds that had the capability to travel from planet to planet was mind-boggling. Then again, back during the era when Yulia was around, they probably would have been close to having that sort of technology, too. Either way, the blond was intrigued now.

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Claude's heart sank at the idea of his friends having to protect him. It bothered him a lot, actually, perhaps more than it should have. "I'd rather them focus on taking care of themselves than having to worry about me," the blond admitted. "They probably have their own plans at night, and having an unarmed person in the group would probably slow them down." He was used to people relying on him to do things, not the other way around. And with Dias here, Claude wasn't sure if he could bear the humiliation of not being able to do anything useful.

It was a stupid idea, but he was actually starting to consider striking out on his own so he could pick up something to defend himself with. That way, he'd definitely be ready when he met up with the others again.

"I'll figure something out," he added, and he took another bite of his food.

It wasn't until Guy leaned forward, apparently interested in what he'd just said, that Claude realized he probably came from an underdeveloped planet. (Actually, from the way people had been talking about Auldrant on the message board, it was quite likely.) Normally he might have given at least a little pause at this, but then he figured it didn't matter by this point. Guy had already been swept from his own home and was now more than aware of the existence of other planets. It seemed pointless to try and keep him in the dark just because a bunch of old men with expensive suits and fancy desks said so.

Not that Claude ever really paid much attention to any of that in the first place, but it wasn't because he'd never thought about it.

"Yes, I was on a planet called Expel," Claude told him, deciding to put it in simple terms. "I was, ah, on a journey through the stars, but then I got lost and found myself there. I was trying to find a way back here, but then I decided I wanted to stay awhile longer." He frowned a little. "But then I guess these guys decided they had other plans for me."

He paused, regarding Guy curiously for a moment. "This is your first time on another planet, right?"

[nobleman]

So did that mean that Claude wasn't even planning on sticking with his friends when night came around? Just what did he plan to do, then? Maybe it wasn't Guy's place to really push the subject any further, but he had been told by more than a few people that going out on your own was the worst thing to do in this place.

"Even if you don't go with them, you should find someone to wander around with. Maybe someone else who's looking for a weapon?" He picked at his food, hoping that he wasn't intruding too much. Though in the end, it was Claude's decision, so offering some friendly advice didn't seem like such a sin. It might just save the kid's life - or at least prevent him from getting seriously injured. "I've just heard that it's pretty dangerous to go out alone, especially unarmed."

As Claude explained, Guy did his best to follow. He had a better chance of comprehending it than, say, Luke did, but it still went over his head to an extent. A journey through the stars? That was something he had only dreamed of. At the question, he gave a firm nod. "Oh, definitely. On Auldrant, we were just starting to develop airships. There used to be really advanced technology, but that was over two thousand years ago. We've lost the knowledge on how to do all of that now, but... Well, I guess we're slowly figuring things out." It was depressing to know that he probably wouldn't see anything close to space travel in his lifetime, but at least he had Claude here to tell him about it!

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What Guy was saying actually made some sense. Claude remembered how many times he'd been told that going on recon missions alone was a terrible, dangerous idea. Of course, so was approaching strange alien devices and getting transported onto underdeveloped and equally alien planets, and that certainly hadn't stopped him.

"I guess I could try finding someone before night falls," Claude mused aloud. The bulletin board was certainly out of the question, especially since he wanted to be discreet about the whole thing, as far as his friends from Expel were concerned. It'd be better for everyone if he just happened to meet up with them with some sort of weapon, rather than explain what he intended to do beforehand. They'd all want to go with him if they knew he intended to search around for a decent weapon, and Claude didn't think he'd be very comfortable with that.

Either way, he was aware of how dangerous it was. Last night's experience was more than enough to clue him into that little detail.

"If I don't find anyone before then, I'm sure I'll bump into someone along the way," he said confidently. "Things will turn out, somehow."

The blond listened to Guy, clearly interested as he took a slow bite of his pasta. "You guys had just invented airships, huh?" That was definitely more advanced than Expel, as far as transportation went. The idea that Auldrant used to be more advanced was fascinating as well. It was incredibly sad how technologically developed civilizations could lose their knowledge to time. Kind of like how the secrets Nede once held were lost forever due to, in part, his own hand.

"That sounds really exciting for your people, though," he added, deciding to focus on the matter at hand. "Seeing things from the air can really change your perception of the world, you know?" Towns, people, and monuments looked like mere playthings from such a distance. It really put things into perspective.

[nobleman]

The fact that Claude was so laid back about it was a little surprising. He seemed confident with himself, but he also had a point. With the amount of people stuck in this place, it wasn't exactly hard to run into someone you could spend the night with. Not everyone was able to make plans - in fact, he still had to worry about that himself. Luke had mentioned meeting up, but they didn't know each other's room numbers. And there was Peony to consider, but Jade probably had a hold on that situation. Or so he hoped.

Guy was almost tempted to offer to go along with the other blond. He was looking for a weapon, too, after all (or the means to get one, at least), so they would probably be heading to the same places. Still, he had his friends to consider - it wouldn't be very right for him to run off with someone he'd just met when he had people counting on him.

"Oh, it's amazing. I mean, it had sort of being my dream to fly one. I'm really into fontech..." He paused for a moment, wondering if Claude would even know what that was. It didn't seem like this planet had fonons, so probably not. "Well, just technology and that sort of thing. So to have that breakthrough during my lifetime..." His face had lit up more than it had during the rest of the conversation. Too bad no one was around to tease him about his obsession.

Then the intercom went off and seemed to drag Guy back to reality. "Well, looks like lunch is over." He quickly ate a few more bites of his food, as the conversation had distracted him from it. "It was nice talking to you, Claude," he said with a smile as he stood from his seat.

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Claude wasn't really sure what "fontech" meant, but it didn't take a genius to figure out it was some sort of technological-based term. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if it was any different from the kinds of things he was used to. Maybe it was something to look into later.

Either way, it was nice to see how happy Guy seemed when talking about this sort of thing. Claude was glad to know that, despite how crazy this place was, it was still possible to have a normal conversation with good, decent people.

He wanted to tell the other blond that it was very well possible he'd see even greater breakthroughs in his lifetime, especially since they'd already developed airships. After all, space travel had to come around sometime, right? But then the intercom sounded, and it looked like lunchtime was over.

"It was nice talking to you, too, Guy," Claude replied with a genuine smile of his own. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

It was then that he realized he should have asked if he could have accompanied him tonight. After all, neither of them were armed. But with the next shift about to start, it seemed rude to spring it up on him at the last minute like that. Besides, if Guy hadn't asked, it was likely he'd had plans of his own anyway.

So, instead, Claude stood up from his own seat and proceeded to follow the other captives out of the cafeteria. He'd find someone else later. Probably.