Day 27: Lunch

[norainu]

Renji wasn't so certain what this grilled cheese thing was all about, but he liked the sound of some soup. Even if it was strange western soup, well... there wasn't anything bad people could do to soup, in his experience. His good mood was starting to fray at the edges, a little, from the strain of dealing with the Ichimaru issue, and even more from what had been on the bulletin board earlier.

He'd never had difficulty simply writing something before. But...

He shook his head as he entered the line. He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to hold on to the tenuous equilibrium he'd managed to find.

Renji got himself a large bowl of soup, water, and even one of those sandwiches, just to try it. Old habit, recently awakened, had him over to one side of the cafeteria, where the fewest people possible would have the chance to pass behind him. He sat there with his back toward the wall and started eating.

Comments

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

Danny's head was circling with questions already. Who was AVALANCHE? What madman? What kind of monsters...? And why would anyone let the new ones die like that?! Flashlights...? Grinders...? Screaming...? All of a sudden, Danny wanted out, moreso than before. But not before he found the ghost behind it all...even if it was going to be nasty.

"A-are you serious?!" he stuttered. "Oh man..." Clutching his head, he fidgeted a bit in his seat. "But why do they need to....e-eat us?! And who's AVALANCHE, anyway?" Why would anyone name themselves something like that? "And what flashlight?! I jumped out of bed and went straight to breakfast?!"

Danny felt like the walls of the cafeteria were coming down to reveal something else, something really disgusting, but he couldn't be bothered by it, no. He'd faced worse things before...right? Yeah...yeah, right! So if he just kept it together--as much as he could, at least--he could make it through! So Danny tried to get a hold on himself so that he could stop freaking out.

[deathinvitation.livejournal.com]

"I am quite serious."

Then again, Sephiroth wasn't the type to look not serious. Returning his attention to his plate, he didn't bother to answer any of the human's questions. They were so much more amusing when they stumbled around blindly and ultimately crashed into each other.

"It does get worse, of course. Some nights, they give you weapons and make you go drag the other patients to the grinder."

Lifting his shoulders in a vague shrug, Sephiroth waved towards the bulletin board.

"Go ask on there. I am sure you will get the answers you do... and do not want."

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

"So...they make you turn the patients into food?" Danny shuddered at the thought; he couldn't imagine forcing his companions and fellow victims into the giant meat grinder he had pictured. Well, he could, but the one shoving them into the grinder was Dan, not him per se.

"What is that, some bulletin board?" he asked. He had briefly skimmed it earlier, but hadn't really paid attention to it. He really didn't even know its purpose. "What do people put up there?"

Danny could've found out for himself by standing up and looking on his own, but he wasn't exactly the type to do that. Not to mention how creeped out he was right now. He never wanted to imagine grinding his friends and family into meat patties again. Seeing them blown up was enough for him, thank you!

[deathinvitation.livejournal.com]

"You do not know it at the time, but yes, that is the gist of it. You kill or take other patients to be processed, holding them down when the blades descend."

Sephiroth was such a pleasant person for conversation.

"As for the board, most use it to communicate, try to form their own little rebellion groups, or warn others of where monsters are when night comes. There are monsters here at night that will simply eat you and save everyone the trouble of hunting you down to kill you."

Returning his attention to his food, Sephiroth seemed less than concerned that a boy Danny's age might not make it through the night. Then again, that was standard for him. The boy was only a human after all, nothing more than a minor annoyance to Sephiroth. The less of them, the better. Mother would want it that way.

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

"....ew," he finally said, his mind seeming to have calmed down by now. Now that he had a basic grasp around the situation, he could approach the situation with a more rational mind, even with his rather slow mind.

He nodded. So maybe that bulletin board could be useful...sort of. Although he didn't get one thing. If you were trying not to get eaten at night, how were you supposed to make it all the way to the cafeteria and write something before getting eaten? Bad guy logic, he supposed.

He let a silence pass as he ventured to poke at his food again, finally taking a timid bite from the sandwich, which had now gone entirely cold. He could sort of see himself being fattened up by the bite, when a monster would pop out the wall randomly and eat him whole. Jeesh. Ew.

"So uh...you mentioned some group named AVALANCHE earlier, right?" he asked at long last.

[deathinvitation.livejournal.com]

Sephiroth had come to the conclusion that he had to be losing his intimidation factor. Honestly though, it was hard to be frightening when one was dressed in a grey sweatsuit with a bright yellow smiley face on it. For that alone, Sephiroth had decided that Martin Landel would be the last of his people to die, suffering as much as it was possible for a human to before their heart or mind gave out.

He hoped it was the heart that went first. No fun in torturing someone who didn't appreciate the effort.

Folding his hands before him, his unblinking cat-like eyes fixed on Danny. He stayed that way long enough for what he hoped was discomfort for the boy.

"Go annoy someone else, human. You try my patience. I have warned you which is more than I have for anyone else. The sunroom tonight, if you want to live."

He really hoped a horrifying monster was in there tonight.

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

Was...he doing something wrong? He appreciated the information and everything, he just wanted to know more! What good was it to take down this place if you didn't know who to go to? Danny would much rather go to the boss straight away, beat him up, and be back home before dinner, like a basic level in Doomed.

Those eyes were starting to creep him out. And what did he mean, human? If he wasn't a human, did that mean he was a ghost or something? Eughhhh...those eyes were really creepy.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" he said, giving up and picking up his tray to go somewhere else, if he could even find a seat in the cafeteria. Maybe he'd even throw out his food. After hearing all that, eating kinda made him feel a bit ill.

Cranky, he thought sourly.

[deathinvitation.livejournal.com]

Cranky didn't quite cover all of Sephiroth's myraid problems. He was a bit annoyed at himself for even speaking to the human, lower life forms that they were. Wanting amusement had never been something he recalled himself actively doing. Before, if it had come his way, so be it. It was disturbing in its own way. Perhaps this human condition was catching, infecting him as a cold or other virus would in a crowded group.

It was something he would have to be watchful of in the future. It wouldn't do to lower himself to their level despite the conditions he was having to endure.

Leaving the boy to whatever happened to him (oh but he would check tomorrow and see if it survived the night for curiosity's sake he told himself) Sephiroth began eating once more. Weakening due to a lack of nutrition was unacceptable.