damned_institute | Day 27: Breakfast

Day came too soon.

Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn't going to hide from them, either. That would just be low, after all, and he was ready to face up to the consequences.

He didn't try to make excuses for himself. Even though there had been a Special Counseling patient, they had managed to take her down by sheer numbers. The fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Rena was what had him the most worried. He hoped he could find her today.

The boy laid in his bed for a good while that morning before his nurse finally came in to collect him. She clucked over the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and leg, and asked him if he was okay to walk.

Once Sora assured her he was fine (he didn't really want to use crutches, as that would just attract attention to himself, and he didn't need others worrying over him), they made their way to the cafeteria. Sora yawned and winced against the bright light of morning - it seemed even earlier than usual, and he realized why when they entered the cafeteria and found it empty.

The boy shuffled over to grab a chocolate chip pancake, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of milk (good for the bones, or so his mom had always told him) before settling at a table. He kept an eye on the door, hoping he would see Rena walking in soon.

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"Talk about epic," Max gave a low whistle, taking the tale in. She still wasn't sure she believed the whole thing, but there was a lot of unbelivable stuff she'd heard since coming here. She supposed it was as believable to some as she was, though. She doubted Keman had ever heard of chimera or transgenics or Manticore, either. Not to mention Seattle, EMP's, or cheeseburgers. She thought he'd like cheeseburgers, though. Dragons ate meat, right?

"You sound like you had your hands full for a long time, then," she commented with a crooked grin. "Valyn knows your sister too? I think he mentioned I reminded him of someone when we talked."

"Epic?" Keman looked pensive. "I suppose." It certainly seemed that way, now that he was so detached from it. While it was actually happening, he hadn't exactly had time to think about it.

"I gues you could say that," he laughed. "I was older, but she was always the one getting me into trouble. But...then again, she was always getting me out of it, too." Keman's voice turned thoughtful, remembering. "I'm not particularly big, for a dragon. I'm still growing, of course, but I'll always be small. There is a bully at our Lair, a big brute named Rovy. I was his favorite target. One day...he was beating me, and Shana stepped in to save me. She lost control...like I did last night...and hurt him. Nothing he couldn't recover from, of course, but since Shana wasn't Kin, she was banished. So I had to get her back..."

He snickered. "Yes, Valyn knows Shana very well. She's in love with him, you see. Rather hopelessly, too."

Max smiled at the change in his tone of voice when he spoke of his sister. "I can tell you're very fond of her. You two are close, aren't you?" She knew the feeling. She wondered if her voice changed when she spoke of her siblings, or Alec and Joshua. Or even Logan, for that matter. She had a feeling it did for Logan, Original Cindy often gave her That Look when she started talking about him. Or avoided talking about him.

The latter revelation drew a laugh from her. "Really? Good for her. Does she make him blush on a regular basis too?"

Keman looked wistful. "Very close," he said softly. "I miss her terribly." He didn't want her here, of course, but...he wished he could just talk to her, at least. Things always made so much more sense after he talked to her about them.

"I'm not sure either of them think it's very good for her," he laughed. "I think they both find it pretty inconvenient. And yes. You are the only person I've met who's managed to fluster him almost as much as she does."

Max reached out and ruffled his hair again. "You'll see her again. Then you can talk and she can fluster Valyn and you can celebrate winning that war of yours, yeah?" And she planned to do the same. She hoped.

"Inconvenient, huh? Well, I suppose that's one way of looking at it," she laughed, thinking how she'd felt much the same way about Logan at first. "I take it they haven't admitted their undying love and devotion to each other, then?" she guessed with a snicker.

Keman batted Max's hand away from his head, pretending to scowl. "You certainly seem to like my hair," he laughed. "I can't fault you, though. I make a stunning two-legger, don't I? Had you convinced, anyway." The dragon-turned-halfblood 'posed' and waggled his eyebrows comically. ...Ow. That hurt his face.

He sighed. "And I plan to, Max. I'm going to find what's keeping me from shifting back to my natural form, destroy it, and then get this place as far behind me as I can. You're welcome to come with, of course."

The (ostensibly) human female started to go on about undying love and devotion, and Keman nearly choked on his juice. "Uh, no. Not really. I think Shana thinks we don't know about it, but she's pretty...easy to read. It's painfully obvious how she feels about Valyn...and how terrified of it Valyn is." Well...there were the legitimate concerns regarding incest, et cetera, but he wasn't about to tell Max about all that. He'd promised Valyn he wouldn't.

"Yes, you're absolutely the perfect specimen of male-ness," she teased him, her voice holding a note of affection as she laughed. Men.

"It sounds like a good plan, and pretty much along the same lines as mines and probably most others. And thanks for the invitation, but I've got my own world and friends and family to get back to," she replied, looking wistful for a moment.

"Valyn? Terrified of a pretty girl?" Max laughed at the very notion. "Oh, now that's a wonderful mental image I'll have to remember. Maybe I'll have to 'fall for him' just to freak him out while he's here. So he doesn't get out of the habit or anything."

"Oh, I know," Keman said loftily. "That's why I chose this form, above all the other possibilities. I knew that it was just too wonderful not to share with the world." Only...not. He hadn't actually given it much thought, when he'd first shifted. One moment he was a dragon, the next he was a halfblood. Looking back on it now, he supposed that maybe this was less of a disguise and more of another version of himself. Maybe this was what he would've looked like, had he been born as a two-legger.

He smiled gently. "I figured. I just wanted to extend the invitation, just in case. I hope you get back safely to them, once we get out of here." Home was home, even if it was a horrible place like Keman's own world. Sometimes old cliches are true. Home is where the heart is.

"Well, Valyn's used to women being...gentle. And delicate." The dragon laughed. "Shana is neither. I think she probably came as a bit of a shock to him! And if you do that, I think he'll probably have a heart attack."

"I'm sure we'll all figure out a way to get home, once we take this place down," Max reassured him with a smile. "I mean, they had to bring us here somehow, so there's got to be a way to reverse the process."

She snorted at the description of females. "Yeah, delicate and gentle aren't exactly the first descriptions linked to me, either. If ever. Why would he want someone gentle and delicate? I always thought that sort was rather boring."

Day 27: Breakfast

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