damned_institute | Day 27: Lunch

All of this being pulled around by these nurse people didn't exactly sit well with Argilla. After awakening, she'd only ever been prepared to take orders from Serph or possibly Gale, her own Tribe. She'd given the nurse a few sharp words to that effect until the woman had threatened to have her sedated. What use would she be then? She needed to find the others, find out what had happened to Sera. Had they managed to get to the EGG facility after all?

If they had, was this the recreated world?

She quickly scoped out the inhabitants of the room as the nurse led her to the tables with food on. Food she'd never seen before, let alone tasted! What was this... cheese? Not that she'd ever eaten much other than rations and flesh. She looked suspiciously at the food when she sat down and took a small bite, chewing it carefully. It... it tasted odd, not bad, but with more flavour than anything else she'd ever tried.

But inside she could feel Prithvi growling hungrily, wanting something else, something much more satisfying.

Well, that had been interesting. Lyta would have to find that psychotic military man when she had a chance. He could prove very, very useful. Maybe with a little extra firepower, so to speak, they'd finally make some progress.

Lyta grabbed her lunch and looked for a free seat, finding the mess hall insanely crowded. She had her shields up, finally, and at least she couldn't hear all the damn background chatter anymore.

"Mind if I sit?" she asked a woman who didn't seem to be engrossed in conversation with anyone.

Argilla turned her attention to the newcomer when she approached and offered a smile to her. "Sure. Go ahead." Maybe she could get a few answers finally.

It was a little strange to be sitting and eating with so many people around her. Probably more than she'd seen together all at once before. Definitely more 'real' humans than she'd ever seen in one place before, although she still didn't really hold with their ideas of what was real or not. The Lokapala... she wondered if they'd survived or not. She had no doubt that Fred would make a great leader, but he was still young.

She shook herself out of her thoughts enough to introduce herself. "I'm Argilla."

"Lyta." The red haired telepath sat down. "Nice to meet you." Even though she wasn't. She didn't care one way or another, but people were obsessed with being polite. And it didn't do to make enemies. More enemies. She knew that allying herself with Envy opened the door for a good many people to not trust her. Even want to harm her.

Not that she was worried.

"New?" she asked.

The greeting was a little surprising. Not something that was used in the Junkyard, and if it was a human thing, the Lokapala had been in too dire straits to waste on pleasntries. She smiled in slight puzzlement and shrugged. "If you say so. You've only just met me." Not long enough for it to be nice to meet someone in her mind.

"Yes, I'm new. It's... different to anything I've experienced before."

"Yeah, join the club." Lyta snorted. "This place is different than anything anybody's experienced. You get used to it. Read the bulletin board in the Sun Room if you haven't figure out what this place is all about yet. It'll save you and me a hell of a lot of time."

She'd never been one for the introductory speech. She didn't care all that much about helping people adjust, or warning them. They'd figure it out one way or another.

"just watch yourself at night."

At least she wasn't the only one. But Argilla had lived through this kind of change once before and it hadn't phased her much then, even with the bitter disappointment of finding out that the Nirvana promised was a lie. At least in the Junkyard, they'd always had that to aim for.

"I've been reading it," she replied simply. "First thing to do is find out as much as you can." It was only sense. She wasn't as logical as Gale could be, but some of the things humans ignored baffled her at times.

She smiled slowly at the mention of nighttime. "The monsters, right? I can take care of myself. I've been dealing with monsters for my whole life." Tuners... that's what they had to be! And much as she disliked the whole process, the fact was, she needed to eat and for that, she needed to kill.

"Yeah, about that..." Lyta chuckled some, almost patronizingly. Oh, how many times had she had this conversation? And it always went the same way....

"It doesn't matter what you did or what you're used to. Here? You're screwed. Trust me. This place shouldn't be any problem for me, either, but it is. These things are stronger, and we're all weaker. And no one ever believes that until they get sliced up at night...."

And that was supposed to make a difference? The Embryon had been the weakest of the major tribes, the smallest and they'd eventually won out against the odds and come to the Karma Temple. And they'd fought through the armies of the Karma Society to their goal, against enemies who were much stronger than them.

She considered that for a moment and then nodded. "That must be why..." She shook her head, deciding not to say more for now. "Thanks for the warning. It's not the first time I've woken up somewhere and found myself severely weakened." Waking up that first time and losing all of Prithvi's fearsome power that she'd acquired in the Junkyard... "It's disconcerting." But it explained why Prithvi's voice in the back of her head seemed just a little muted. No less hungry, that would never go away, but like it was blocked somehow, preventing Argilla reaching the demon's power.

"Yeah, if you've got some fancy tricks, you'll probably notice they don't work like they used to." Lyta prodded at her sandwich with little interest.

"It takes a while to get used to. And it sucks. It sucks a lot. But there's ways to work around it if you pay attention and you're smart." Which so few people were. And yet they seemed to be doing better than Lyta and Envy were.

That was what really sucked.

Fancy tricks? Well, yeah. But those could be ignored. All she truly needed to survive were her instincts and Prithvi. Of course, the way Prithvi felt so muted she was beginning to wonder... That could be a serious problem.

Argilla smiled slightly though. "My Tribe only survived by being smart." They'd stayed alive by picking their battles carefully, and being clever enough to outsmart the enemy.

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Sanzo didn't immediately take a seat. Instead, he scanned the room, looking for that irritatingly smug face.

He hadn't forgotten that "offer" of Homura's the night before, and the monk wanted to make absolutely sure he didn't sit anywhere near the bastard. He wasn't about to willingly put himself through any more of the man's games. Even if the other patient dangled that promise in front of him (and that probably wasn't worth much to begin with), Sanzo wasn't about to get threatened like that.

Sanzo chose an empty table, one that was at a respectable distance from Homura's but enough that he could keep an eye on the war god. He wasn't about to go turning his back on him either.

Ed glared at the nurse as the staff-member walked back to a handy spot for observing the room. The redhead wanted to go play with the bulletin board, but the nurse had said it wasn't time to go and dropped her in an empty section of a random table. Ed was left to feel disappointed she had so far not found a proper outlet for her talents. Surely someone in this big crazy place had use for an infamous computer hacker and former bounty hunter. Although... so far nobody seemed to know who she was. Nor had she recognized any of the people she'd met so far. Strange strange.

The child stared off into middle-space and reviewed what she'd learned so far, and what the others had said. One concept kept floating up above the others: not a good idea to fight the scary monsters? Not fair. That sounded like big big fun. Ed had been the only one to properly survive the mystery space alien that had incapacitated the rest of the Bebop crew. Surely that had to count for something.

[Healer Meeting]

Momo finally made it to the third table on the left and sat her tray down. She took a moment to finger-comb through her hair, working out the few tangles, and then wound it up into her customary bun. The shinigami had a coughing fit that wracked her body and she sat heavily in her seat feeling very cold and wishing she'd kept Signum's coat given how cold it was in the cafeteria.

The shinigami took a couple spoonfuls of the soup, greatful for it's soothing warmth as she waited. She was already later for her own meeting. Did everyone else decide to sit somewhere else once they saw the table was empty? She hoped not.

Tamaki had needed to wash his hands and get cleaned up from Arts and Crafts before lunch. That glue was sticky! As it was, he bounded in to lunch on the late side himself. He was too nervous to even eat, and ignored getting food completely. Instead he bounded over to the designated table where he was supposed to be meeting with the other doctors and healers here at the Institute.

"Ah, fair maiden!" he announced, seeing the young woman who was sitting there. "Forgive my sudden intrusion, but is this where the healers are meeting?"

He knew was a bit late, he hoped he hadn't missed it!

Raine decided to assume she'd be able to eat--missing so much of breakfast helped. (Also the thought of how Reinforce would react to learning Raine was probably losing weight at this point.) She barely tasted her food some meals--too bad, really, since the food was actually good.

"Hinamori Momo?" she asked the woman, putting her tray on the table next to the woman's. "I'm Raine Sage." It was good to finally meet her, as well as everyone else; she nodded to Tamaki, at least. He seemed eager to learn, so hopefully she would stop nearly twitching every time he spoke to her. To think, she was actually slightly worried about Zelos, too...

She hoped the turnout would be better than this, but simply talking to Momo was something.

Reinforce tailed Raine and Kratos over to Momo's table. She'd been planning on taking Raine there to begin with, but her roommate had met what seemed to be an old friend, so she had held off... and in the end, Raine had located Momo on her own.

So she arrived just after Raine and seated herself next to her. "My roommate," she appended to Raine's greeting to Momo. But for Kratos they were all familiar faces, and he was the friend of a friend, so for her it was as informal a meeting as she expected to have here. Not that new faces were unwelcome. She did like those quite a bit...

Momo stood when Tamaki arrived, the young boy's exuberance a bit overwhelming in his greeting, and bowed politely to him. She'd seen him speaking with integra a few days ago, so she was aware of whom he was.

"Greetings, Suou-san," she said with a warm smile. "I am Vice Capatain--"

And the rest of her introduction was given when Raine spoke up. She smiled at Raine, remembering the minor information she'd been able to glean about the woman via the bulletin board and confirmed her identity to the woman.

"Yes, as I was telling Suou-san, I am Vice Captain Hinamori Momo of the Gotei 13. Or, as my group is going by here, Arts & Crafts. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sage-sensei," she said with a respectful bow. Her eyes turned to the half-elf's roommate and her smile broadened a bit. "Good to see you again, Reinforce-san."

Momo returned to her seat and took the group in. A part of her was disappointed to not see Hakkai or MOMO there, but given MOMO's previous night, it didn't surprise her that the girl was keeping to herself. As for Hakkai...

"I'm afraid I was a little preoccupied at the beginning of lunch by another matter and arrived late myself, so we may have lost a few people," she said with a weary smile. "I was hoping to see both Cho-san and MOMO-chan, but it seems they had other thoughts."

Turning to Tamaki as Momo assumed being roommates Reinforce had explained a lot to Raine, she said, "Suou-san, I am trying to gather the healers we have here in Landel's into their own group, much like Arts & Crafts and Cooking, to give the non-military oriented prisoners a place to go as well as an organizing of those with healing abilities. You've already begun this, a step ahead of me, with the Saint Francis Aide Club. What I would like to do, if you are amiable to it as well as up to the task, is to continue this process further by incorporating those with mystical healing powers into your group."

Momo paused for a long moment. "Especially tonight. There will be a great need for healers easily available," the shinigami said, her gaze flickering over at Reinforce for a moment.

Tamaki couldn't help but have a small pang of something. This was the only thing he could do. It was his project, and he was very proud of it. And after last night, he couldn't help but worry about having his toes stepped on and being pushed aside. Especially when none of the current club had any magical powers at all. And they were still learning.

And he knew that anyone and everyone who could heal would be needed. Because so many people got hurt, and if they were all organized...

Some of his exuberance went out of him. He sat down and had a far more sober look on his face.

"I'll need a list of all of their abilities, in that case," Tamaki said, finally. He couldn't very well organize them without knowing that. "And...their promise that even though all our members right now are young, that they'll listen to us and respect us and work with us, and not ignore us or dismiss us." Because it wasn't just about him. It was about the twins and Sheska and Kyon....

They weren't fighters. They didn't have very many special talents. And he knew he and the twins had been drifting and feeling lost and useless. But they had this and it was theirs and he wasn't about to let anyone take it away from them.

They'd already had that happen too many times in this place.

Raine softened a little; she could guess some of how Tamaki felt. "I promise," she said. "I've learned that age has little to do with ability or usefulness; we need everyone's help here. If there are things you need to know, we can teach you." All right, she and Reinforce had pushed them aside the night before, but Kyon was bleeding madly enough so magic was the best solution, and all bets were off when someone was that badly hurt.

Considering, she opened her journal and tore out a page, then wrote her name and a brief explanation of what she could do, magically. She couldn't promise Tamaki would stay the leader in any sense, but he would still be charge of something, at least, if she had anything to say about it.

Nobody liked feeling unwanted or useless, and she wasn't lying; here they really did need everyone.

Rein, for her part, felt a small pang of guilt. She'd been so concerned with making a show of strength, taking command to mask her own weakness, that she hadn't thought for a second that the others in the room might need to prove their own ability more than they needed to see hers. Was she that prideful?

Or did she, as she'd become increasingly worried since meeting Amaterasu, simply lack the empathy necessary to be a boon to the spirits of others? The emotions she'd experienced in her lives had been strong, but unnuanced, and she was used to interacting only with people who were deeply connected to her, whose feelings were her feelings. Dedication wasn't enough if she couldn't understand those she was supposed to be supporting...

She closed her eyes. If she was at a disadvantage in that respect, she needed to be more careful. That at least should be easy for her. She had the mind of a Device as well as a human.

But there was business at hand, and her aversion to lingering too long on anything that hinted of doubt, that might paralyze, was strong as ever. She glanced at Raine and Momo in turn.

"Raine is a more efficient healer than I. You can better use me in combat." Up until now she'd stayed with Raine to protect her and make sure her healing was available to whoever needed it... but as much as it pained her to think of leaving the woman's side, if Raine was going to be spending her nights in the safe confines of a room, she was no longer needed in that capacity.

Until then, Kratos had stayed out of the conversation; he had only come for the sake of observing and perhaps learning more about the Institute. However, this healing group did interest him, even if he was not, as he professed, a healer by nature. It seemed that he might have found that something worthwhile he had been wanting to get around to.

"Miss Sage, could I trouble you for something to write with and on?" he asked quietly. "I'm afraid I have nothing on me at the moment."

It was almost like seeing a bright flower wilt in the sudden onset of a storm. Momo felt really bad as she obviously did not communicate properly to Tamaki. She had no intention of taking any of this away from him. He did it first and it wasn't as if she could leave Arts & Crafts and take up this new mantle. Though when Raine and Reinforce both spoke up, the shinigami got a feeling that Tamaki's desires were as a result from something that occurred between the three at the table that weren't death gods.

Momo took a deep breath and focused on Tamaki. "Suou-san, this is your project. I have no intention of taking any control away from you. I am shinigami and I have responsibilities and duty that I cannot forgo. I am nothing more than a source of information and support to the one that takes the mantle of leadership for this collection of healers upon his shoulders. As I said in a previous meeting, I may be the strongest healer of the shinigami, but I am a warrior first and foremost."

"If you want this responsibility, I will support it. Abarai-fukutaichou has great faith in you and thus so do I. I will not 'step on your toes' as many human like to say. As for your conditions, if any healers come through me to you, I cannot make the demands of loyalty upon them as you ask. That is for you to do yourself." It was important that Tamaki make that distinction and step up as a leader. "But I will relay the need to be open with healing abilities."

"As for myself, when I can aide you I am capable of healing anything short of missing limbs and diseases. I may be shinigami, death being my realm, but I am unable to ressurect the dead. Nor would I if I could."

Momo looked to Reinforce. "If you wish to join Arts & Crafts or Cooking, that is your choice, but I personally believe that just as a warrior needs a healer's support, a healer needs a warrior's support. Depending on the situation, someone may need to stand between a monster and the healer as she takes care of the injured. Or if an aide station was set up, say on the second floor, escort protection as well as clearing out a room requires a strong arm."

"I am simply a facilitator here, Suou-san and Sage-sensei," Momo said knowing she was repeating bits of information Reinforce already knew. "This is yours. I am here as needed."

Momo looked toward the paper Raine had written upon curiously and then nodded at it. "May I, Sage-sensei?"

And then the man that had been hovering around spoke up. "May I have your name, sir?"

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Severus grumbled as the nurse glared at him. He had spent his time sitting in the corner of the sun room, wishing he were somewhere else, and glaring at everyone to stay away from him. As a result, he had not really been paying attention, and didn't leave for lunch with the rest.

The nurse, of course, was upset, because he insisted on being able to eat.

"Grab something quick," she sniffed at him and he could only grab a piece of fruit before she was ready to take him to his next location. On their way out he spotted a head of hair that looked suspiciously familiar.

Potter? It couldn't be. With a glare at his escorting nurse and the world in general he took off at a brisk pace to the library. He would figure this out