Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

[right-handed.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[hotlittledragon.livejournal.com]

Hollow? What was a hollow? But one topic at a time seemed to be enough.

"There are parasitic-type shikigami as well. I wonder if..." Kurikara trailed off as they were approached. He cared very little for the usual manners, being the sort of person that almost never observed them, but he bristled obviously at the interruption. Humans.

He might have thrown a punch, but he needed to be alert when the time came to take care of Tsuzuki. Instead, he glared at her and growled much louder than a being of his size should have been able to. "DON'T BARGE IN ON CONVERSATION WITH GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!"

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Hitsugaya wasn't one to mind interruptions, so long as they were polite. This new person, Hokuto, had approached with an apology and a bow. He was more than willing to respond to her, tell her maybe she should come back once they had finished....

But then Kurikara showed his fangs. Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly at his growl, arguably too massive for someone of the dragon's size. While he was amused by the dragon's reaction, it also wasn't befitting a captain to just let a potential recruit be scared off like that.

"That was excessive," Hitsugaya muttered, somewhat grumpily. He glanced at the newcomer. "Yes. I'm the captain of arts and crafts division. We were in the middle of something...you new here?" If someone was new and lost, that was more important than the luxury of pleasant conversation. A captain's duty was never done.

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto raised her eyebrows at the person who'd yelled. Very softly, she asked, "Would it be better if I announced in front of the nurses that I'm joining in the plotting to eventually escape?" It was reasonably safe to say, for her--she wasn't escaping from Landels while it still functioned. Only after it was gone did she plan on leaving.

To Hitsugaya, "I can talk to you later, if that's better. I was the one who mentioned my brother's drawings--he's an onmyouji. I'm a martial artist and a little bit of a magician; I'm new enough here so I'm not sure where I'd be most useful." In short, she was asking for assignment somewhere--all she needed was a room number to report to. If the group didn't work out for her, she could always find another.

[hotlittledragon.livejournal.com]

Kurikara's eyes flashed. He was holding his annoyance in check, but only barely. "I'll move over if you want to get up on the table and try that." He snapped. He folded his arms across his chest.

Kurikara's temper took a hair-trigger at the best of times. In the desert he'd had the tendency to kill the things that disturbed him, or at least maim them badly enough to caution any others from returning. He had no desire to do that here, so he let it smoulder.

"What do you expect? She injured my pride. I'm not used to people interrupting me."

Despite the lofty words, there only seemed to be weary annoyance in his voice. He looked off, willing to let them chat until time grew short. There were many people who would need Hitsugaya's help and he could be trusted to give it to them. Truthfully, Kurikara much preferred if the girl chose to stay. There were people here who were far less honourable.

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Kurikara seemed annoyed, but otherwise didn't seem inclined to cause any more trouble. He was used to tempers flaring, and although Kurikara's was more extreme than that of most shinigami, the dragon seemed to be willing to give them a little time to sort things out.

Hitsugaya glanced back to the woman. "Now is fine," he said. A martial artist could be useful. "I can put you on the roster for tonight. Towards the end of next shift I'll put up assignments, including where you'll meet tonight. Was there anything you needed to know before I do so?"

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

"Mostly what we're doing," Hokuto said. "Not that I can prepare much..." she smiled, dryly. "But it's good to know at least a little in advance." If he didn't want to tell her yet, it was still okay; he seemed like he could be trusted, and all she needed was the room number.

"I'd like to be part of the self-defense lessons, too, if that's possible--I've helped out in classes before." And if there were any advanced classes--she'd only been in training for eight years, and there was always more to learn.

There was something to be said about making plans, and keeping busy; as long as she could do that, she might even be happy here.

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

"I haven't made the schedule for tonight yet," Hitsugaya answered, snatching up and eating the last of the noodles on his plate. "But once we do, I'll give a brief explanation on the board. I'll probably have you doing sumi-e...mapmaking. There's still a bit of this place that we haven't explored."

He nodded. "That could be useful. Abarai-fukutaicho's the main instructor right now, but we could use people to relieve him. I'll see what he thinks tomorrow." He wasn't about to talk to the vice captain today. He needed time away from his duties.