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

[beforehertime.livejournal.com]

"Kind of," Elena admitted. "I think I caught it from my boss. It was one of those twenty-four hour stomach flus. The really nasty ones." Her stomach didn't feel like it was going to start rebelling again, but she was just...tired. Being sick had taken a lot out of her.

[braidless.livejournal.com]

"That sounds terrible," Obi-Wan said quietly. Repressing a sigh, he took a small bite of his sandwich, carefully chewing. The surface was oddly crisp, while the sandwich's contents were delightfully melted. Deciding he liked it after all, he took another bite and swallowed.

"I'd suggest going to see a medic, but I suppose we've all had enough doctor visits to last us a lifetime," the Jedi dryly remarked. But then he looked a little more serious. "Are you going to be all right, though?"

[beforehertime.livejournal.com]

Elena grinned at Obi-Wan. "I see you're enjoying the local cuisine. I take it you don't have any grilled cheese sandwiches where you come from?" The delighted surprise that she had seen on his face probably meant that, no, he wasn't familiar with the after school staple.

"And it was pretty bad, but I'm over the hump, now. The nurses have finally let me out of my room, and I'm off of whatever drug it was they put me on that made me feel high." She smiled. "I'll be fine, thanks. How've you been doing?"

[braidless.livejournal.com]

"Grilled cheese sandwiches?" Obi-Wan glanced down at his food again, eyebrows slightly raised. "No, no, nothing like this where I come from, I'm afraid. I'm assuming it's an Earthian dish." It was nice to talk about something relatively light and casual for once, so Obi-Wan decided to follow that train of thought for now. "Do they have something like this where you come from, Elena?"

He was certainly glad to hear the blonde was feeling better. The last thing they needed was a serious illness going around. "Just take it easy the next day or two, and I'm sure you'll be back to full health," Obi-Wan told her. "And I'm doing well, thank you. Last night was really disappointing, but I suppose I should just be grateful nothing terrible happened to anyone I know."

[beforehertime.livejournal.com]

Elena shrugged. "I don't know about Earth, but yeah, this is pretty common where I come from. It's really easy to make, so a lot of kids eat it. You just get two slices of bread, butter them, stick a couple pieces of cheese between them, and throw the lot on a frying pan. They aren't exactly healthy, but they're almost fool-proof."

And very, very delicious. When she wasn't feeling sick to her stomach, of course.

"Thanks," she smiled. "And yes, that is a good thing. With the way they're starting to pack us in...it makes you wonder if they're building up for something..."

[braidless.livejournal.com]

"This dish is common where you're from? That's very interesting," Obi-Wan said, and he gazed down at the sandwich with curiosity. On one hand, it was possible Landel's prepared dishes from other planets (although, if that was the case, he was feeling sorely cheated of a glass of muja juice right about now). Then again, he recalled his conversation with Artemis Fowl, and how their respective universes shared the game of chess, with the exact same concepts and rules. It was baffling, to say the least. Especially considering how slim the odds were for such a thing.

But, then, the odds for winding up here had to be fairly slim, too.

"It certainly sounds simple to make," he agreed. "Although, I agree, it's probably not the healthiest thing." As delicious as they were, it was probably unwise to eat a lot of them.

The Jedi paused as he glanced around the cafeteria, a soft frown creasing his features. "There are new prisoners today, aren't there? It almost seems like we get a new batch every couple of days. The population is growing. It's obvious they have some sort of goal they're working for, even if it's unclear as to what it is." He looked back over to Elena. "Do you have any speculations on what they might be building up for?"

[beforehertime.livejournal.com]

"Is it?" Elena blinked. She'd never really thought of it that way. "Most of the food they serve here is a lot like what I'm used to at home."

But all this talk about food was starting to make her feel a little queasy again. She fished out a piece of ice from her drink with her fingers and started to suck on it, hoping that it would help.

Probably best to change the subject.

"Sometimes it's more than every day," she said slowly, eying the new faces scattered around the cafeteria. "I don't even want to begin speculating why we're here. It's too frightening."

[braidless.livejournal.com]

So, it sounded like Elena's planet and this one had quite a few similarities as well.

"I'm curious," Obi-Wan said after a moment. "Do you have a game called chess where you come from, Elena?" The probability of that was extremely low, and yet the Jedi couldn't help but ask. It would certainly be very intriguing if it did exist in so many places.

"Yes, I doubt it's a very pleasant reason," he admitted quietly. "And with all this talk about universes and dimensions, I'm beginning to question how easy it will be to return to our original homes."

[beforehertime.livejournal.com]

Elena frowned. "Chess? Yeah, we do. Why? Do you want to play? I've gotta admit, I'm pretty bad at it. My older sister would be the one to ask, if you wanted a challenging game." Rosalind had always kicked her ass at chess. Luckily, Elena was better at poker.

Winning at poker was much more profitable than winning at chess.

"I wonder the same thing," she said, her face falling a little. "But...think about it this way. If they brought us here, they have to be able to put us back. It has to be a two-way process, right?"

[braidless.livejournal.com]

So Elena's planet did have chess. How utterly bizarre! "We have chess where I come from, too," Obi-Wan stated, and he scratched his chin in thought. "Chess exists on Earth, and your planet as well. Don't you think that's strange? I mean, what are the odds that a game with the exact same name, concept and rules would exist in civilizations that have never had contact before? Rather slim, wouldn't you think?"

Some might argue that this chess business was completely irrelevant and pointless to think about, but Obi-Wan couldn't help but be fascinated by something so strange. Not only that, but couldn't it provide some clues about how all their worlds were linked together?

"I agree with you," the Jedi said, nodding at Elena's reasoning. "I don't think it's completely impossible to return, either. If they managed to get us here, there's a way to go back. Plus, there are some prisoners here who are experts in cross-dimensional travel. But from what I understand, there's usually high risk involved. It might not be possible to return everyone here to where they belong."

He knew Qui-Gon wouldn't dream of returning until he knew everyone else here was safe, though. Which, of course, meant that even if they managed to find a way out of the institute, Obi-Wan wouldn't be going back to his own galaxy for a long, long time.