lighthearted: gesture, smile, down (frustrated)
Sora ([personal profile] lighthearted) wrote in [community profile] damned_institute2007-09-19 02:24 am

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.
ext_203323: Malcolm Jamieson as Armand St. Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel looking down while outside with a tree in background (earnest)

[identity profile] secret-orchard.livejournal.com 2007-09-22 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, I wouldn't take your food, M. Vorkosigan." He lowered his chin while he considered how to answer. "Not more than a few hours. They're regular during the day, but the nights are long."

[identity profile] small-fortune.livejournal.com 2007-09-22 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
So, no worrying about starving. That was good, at least.

"You mentioned the weird stuff at night... but what do we do during the day here? Just sit around waiting? Or do they follow up on the pretense of an asylum with treatments?" Thinking back to primitive mental health treatments, Mark felt faintly ill. Betan therapy, it was not.
ext_203323: Malcolm Jamieson as Armand St. Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel looking down while outside with a tree in background (sarcastic)

[identity profile] secret-orchard.livejournal.com 2007-09-22 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
"I haven't talked to anyone more professional than a nurse myself, but from the bulletin board I know there are doctors here. Some of them seem to be terrible excuses for human beings." He resisted the urge to lower his voice. These weren't secrets. "I understand we're shown through structured activities. There were showers yesterday, and gardening I think. If you don't like an activity, the nurses will often let you go to the Sun Room. I haven't any idea what is on the agenda today. I don't even know what day of the week it is."

"So I suppose your answer is yes, they pretend to the hilt we are mental patients. I still don't know what we're all supposed to be suffering from--some sort of identity-related dementia perhaps.

[identity profile] small-fortune.livejournal.com 2007-09-22 04:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Cruel doctors? That was nothing new, though being at the mercy of such was hardly reassuring. Armand hadn't met any yet, he said, so perhaps that delight might be postponed until after Mark figured out where (and when, apparently) they were, and how one got home. Understanding time travel, that should only take a few years.

Kareen... He felt lonely.

"The delusion that we are not supposed to be in this place or time," Mark echoed with faintly grim humor. If Armand was crazy, it seemed to be the catching kind, mass hysteria. Did Mark and his gang count as a 'mass'? No, the evidence for what Armand said was already impressive, just from looking around at the other patients and the strange and primitive facilities. This wasn't a delusion.
ext_203323: Malcolm Jamieson as Armand St. Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel looking down while outside with a tree in background (earnest)

[identity profile] secret-orchard.livejournal.com 2007-09-22 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
"It would be less strange if there were any sense in it. I can't find a connection between the few people I've met."

He rested his chin on his hand, angled just enough to be able to see his conversation partner. "If they'd allow it, I think I'd go back to bed and sleep all day. I don't see how we can get any rest being up all day and night." He hadn't felt sleep-deprived or tired today, though he didn't know if that was usual or not. "Having to put up with the nurses all day again seems a depressing prospect."