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

[teacupdeath.livejournal.com]

The orderlies had woken him from a dead sleep. Both of them, this time. The drugs still in Riddick's system kept a good share of the pain in his side at bay... but as he found himself seated in the cafeteria he wasn't really sure how he'd gotten there. A tray of food sat waiting before him, and the only thing he could really think was... well, that he hadn't ever been given anything quite so completely mind-fucking as whatever Landel's used for sedatives. Cryosleep and the other things he'd been hit with over his less-than-moral life didn't even touch this shit. It was definitely much worse than whatever they did at the end of the night, as well as whatever had brought him here initially. At least he had been able to think after those...

He stared numbly at a spot on the table somewhere beyond his food. He'd think about eating when he felt less like he needed to hurl.

[thehellismycar.livejournal.com]

Dad.

Even if the abrupt contraction across his stomach made him wanna hurl, the hunter, trained for better, managed to keep it in as his bare feet gradually lowered to the floor. Staring blankly at one corner of the ceiling, he just sat there staring; staring so hard he was lost in a lackadaisical paradise within seconds.

He didn't want a damn thing on his mind.

M38 became the prison cell it was intended to be, devoid of sound or feeling... The muteness and surrealism in opening his eyes, yet again, lying on that same bed, same room, hearing the same noises and same voices from down the corridor...

Dean snapped unpleasantly from the trance, resting his face in one hand.

They hadn't gotten anywhere last night. The man felt the urge to retch as he recalled the scar on his brother's arm, and the response he'd received upon questioning its origin. At this rate, he was a hindrance to the team with his unforgivably faulty memory. He flexed a fist, glower worsening when he rammed it into the mattress beside him; with ferocity only John's boys would find ordinary.

Next thing he knew, a plate of the regular crap was in front of him. That he gently nudged it aside instead of tossing the tray entirely, pitching it cleanly off the table edge, was something else.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack wandered into lunch, serving himself a generous helping of sandwiches and a bowl of soup. He hadn't been hungry at breakfast and now it was catching up to him, though given how many people he suspected wanted to beat him into the ground, he probably shouldn't have been. However, he was more than used to people wanting him dead and really, none of the patients here could rival some of the people he had already escaped from in his old existence outside of Landels.

Though he would need to give these people a run around they'd not soon forget. It's the least he could do for all the unwarrented crap he was getting. At least then he'd feel more justification for having his ass handed to him. Scheming, he bit into his sandwich and waited for hopefully friendly company.

[prisonerofdeath.livejournal.com]

Fox made his way to lunch, a bit more enthusiastic about eating now than he had been at breakfast. The shift between breakfast and lunch had been spent relaxing.

Between grilled cheese and the salad bar, the salad bar won out. He remembered Lyta's comment about Landels trying to make all the patients fat with the food they were serving.

At least he had seen Otacon, and knew the engineer was alright.

[bara-no-shinrou.livejournal.com]

[looking for Hitsugaya]

Well, that had been a waste of time; exactly as she had predicted, actually. Of course, being stuck in a room to talk with other patients while being listened to by the enemy wasn't too hard of a situation to call. That was done with, though... now, for something important. She'd been anticipating her meeting with Hitsugaya all day, if for no other reason than the desire to know why someone was organizing a needlepoint club, or whatever they were doing. Then again, he had mentioned that they were writing in code... hm. Oh well... he'd explain it when he got there.

Utena grabbed herself a small tray of food, and found a seat near the door; the better to spot Hitsugaya upon his entrance, after all. All she had to go on was his word that he looked ten, and the impression that he acted like a senior citizen... not a whole lot, all things considered.

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, Naminé wished that she didn't read the bulletin board. It was often easier on her nerves when she didn't, but she often did anyway for the sake of gathering information. There was a wealth of knowledge to be gained from it. For example, she learned that there were more new people, a basement, and someone who could craft weaponry (Naminé especially made sure to remember the last bit).

And then there was Xemnas, requesting a map, and everyone else telling him that he could get said map from her. Naminé had done a good job of avoiding the Superior, knowing that this place was large and crowded enough that she could probably avoid him indefinitely, but now that he was actually looking for her...

To make things worse, the cafeteria was rather empty when she walked in. If Xemnas saw her now, he would have no problem actually getting to her. Still, it wasn't enough for her to try and sit with the few others in this room: This was her problem, she shouldn't involve other people in it.

Obviously, her nerves made her appetite vanish. Naminé had food, but she was staring at it listlessly.

She knew that Larxene would definitely have pointed Xemnas in her direction sooner or later... but why did everyone else ask him to come to her? She wasn't the only person with a map and certainly probably didn't have the most complete map. She hadn't even visited a new area since she visited the Greenhouse!

Well, at least, the sooner she saw him, the better. Naminé even started glumly sketching a map for him - at least, when he came, she'd have what Xemnas wanted and maybe he'd leave her alone for the rest of their stay.

Maybe.

[myopic-mousse.livejournal.com]

Ah, lunch. Mousse had been anticipating it, to some extent, ever since Byakko mentioned it. He was curious as to the nature of the meals and their quality, even with the assurance that they were of decent quality. He glared at his nurse as she led him into and explained the procedure, feeling quite annoyed that she was somehow involved with holding him cative and there was really nothing he could do to escape.

At the moment, anyhow.

Sandwiches weren't really his thing, so he instead took a bowl of soup and a glass of water. He'd start out small and if he found the food to his liking, he could always go back and get a second helping. Meandering around the tables, he took a seat at an empty table and wondered what the NEXT shift would bring.

[theheirshinra.livejournal.com]

Rufus Shinra stifled a yawn as he headed into the cafeteria. After being down for a day and some, getting back into the schedule wasn't as easy as one might have thought. The more Reno told him, the more out of touch he felt. Still, it was amazing what the Turk had done in a single day.

Maybe he wouldn't charge Reno for his flashlight's destruction when they got home. Heh, who was he kidding? Of course he would. And then hang the bill on his wall.

Taking a seat after getting what was passing as food, Rufus poked at it without much interest. His stomache gave a low, pained sound to remind him just how it had been being sick here. Maybe taking it easy was the best idea.

[beforehertime.livejournal.com]

[waiting for Obi-Wan, I do believe!]

How long had it been?

Elena wandered into the cafeteria, looking rather pale and dull-eyed. She didn't think that any childish ailment she'd ever had to suffer through could even begin to compare with the misery she had endured over the past...however long it was.

Maybe a day, maybe two. It felt longer. At any rate, her she was in position to eat anything grilled or fried or even remotely greasy, but the soup seemed manageable.

Hopefully.

[deathinvitation.livejournal.com]

Sephiroth mentally cursed that man that had damaged his leg the other night for about the two hundredth time. While he was capable of walking, pain sparked with each step even now and his gait was slowed by a limp. If he ever got the chance, he was taking out that man's other eye. Slowly. Precisely. Then braiding the optic nerve and making sure the redhead got it as a present.

Easing himself into a seat, Sephiroth wasn't interested much in eating, doing so mechanically for need versus pleasure. His strange eyes moved over the crowd, picking out the few he knew and passing over those he did not. Humans. They all looked the same to him after awhile. Lost in his own thoughts for the time being, it looked as if he had no plans to start any chaos just yet.

[no-side-effects.livejournal.com]

Wesker was already forming his plans for what to do tonight. He would take Birkin and Krauser with him for certain, Birkin would be useful when it came time to do what he actually wanted to accomplish, and Krauser for his talents when it came to fighting.

It would probably be safer and better for Claire if she were to find someone else to travel with tonight. He would need to tell her that, too, but first he wanted to make sure everything went smoothly with Krauser and William.

Wesker decided to stay away from the grilled cheese, and unfortunately had to settle for a salad. Hopefully there would be meat for dinner.

[rabastlestrange.livejournal.com]

Very little dulled the spirits of one Rabastan Lestrange. Bouncing happily thought the crowd, his 5'2 form gave him an advantage in slipping past all these taller people. There were benefits to being vertically challenged.

Now if he could only find Kitty-Yazoo, life would be good.

"Kitty!"

No one had ever bothered to inform Bast that yelling for someone wasn't the best of ideas. Loading up his plate with french fries, slathering them with ketchup and vinegar (as well as salt) he plunked down at a table and waited cheerfully for today's new victim friend.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Hellmaster drifted into lunch with a happy spirit. Sure, he didn't know how to USE the talisman, but he had managed to procure that lovely fuda from Seishirou that was so nicely crafty in blood. If nothing else, it could serve as a pick-me-up in darker moments. Grabbing a bit of everything, the Mazoku Lord pulled up a chair and began eating his french fries.

Hm. Not as sweet as pancakes, but not as salty as tatertots. Not too bad, then...

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

[if Renji has plans, I'll gladly delete.]

All too soon, the shift was over and the nurses came to separate the newly reunited siblings. Keman satisfied his frustration by muttering creative curses at his nurse. She satisfied her annoyance by chiding him for babbling in that "made up language" of his.

The cafeteria smelled good, at least. Valyn's apology and Shana's arrival had made the young dragon forget his empty stomach, but now that he was alone, it came back with a vengeance. He piled his plate little bit of everything (except for the "cole slaw," which smelled...odd), and went to look for a place where he could make sure that he'd be able to spot his sister and the elf as soon as they arrived.

As it turned out, Renji was sitting nearby.

Keman greeted the red haired, oddly marked human with a warm smile.

"Hello! You're looking quite a bit better than you did last night."

[notahangedman.livejournal.com]

The intercom announcements of lunch came with happy thoughts as far as Seishirou was concerned. He was hungry and this place had offered the most excellent menu until now, he didn't expect it to disappointment this time either.

Whistling softly under his breath, he gathered a bit of this and a bit of that to his tray - he wanted to try everything of course. And then headed towards one of the tables, hoping to catch a glimmer of Xelloss or perhaps Kikyo. Either would provide him with amusing conversation to say the least.

And what more could a man want?

[gentiana-clusii.livejournal.com]

Ken sighed as he was once more pulled away from one of his friends to go eat some strange food. The nurse collected him a plate again, this time he made sure to ask for specific things (stuff from the salad bar, a bowl of soup, tea.) He didn't feel like eating a sandwich made of grease and cheese. She also placed a small plastic cup on the tray--more pills, great.

Ken sank down in his seat with a groan and closed his eyes against the bright light of the cafeteria. He hadn't seen Aya at all last shift, either, though there had been Arts and Crafts. Who knew, maybe Aya had gone in there.

[arc-wrench.livejournal.com]

HK sat down at the lunch table, still breathing a little raggedly. His lungs were healing, but nowhere near as fast as he thought they should.

And he was supposed to meet someone today, wasn't he? It would be embarrasing if they turned up and he couldn't properly irritate them.

[always-a-victim.livejournal.com]

One of the last things Kain wanted was to eat. At this time of day, normally, he would've been deeply asleep: His body was telling him it wasn't hungry, but could he please find a bed? Still, if this was going to be the schedule, he had to adapt as soon as possible, so he picked up a bowl of the soup and a drink before sitting down near the doors.

Inevitably he thought about the conversation he had with the Captain about different dimensions. Kain looked from person to person, curious. Everyone had completely experiences then, different histories and lives. The why of bringing people here -- especially if it came with dangers like rifts -- remained in the dark, but it wasn't something he could ever guess at.

It did make him relieved, in a way. If there were infinite time-lines and dimensions, then the chances that someone from home would arrive here were pretty slim.

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

And what... was this shit?

Sanji didn't like being dragged away from Usopp, especially not when the sniper had just been describing the contacts he and Luffy had made so far (ninja what?). If he hadn't seen the results of someone else's struggle previously, he would have made an attempt to fight his way out of the nurse's clutches.

And he was beginning to feel gipped on top of this. Why was it that everyone else seemed to get a female nurse? He didn't need to hear all this comforting cooing from the mouth of another guy.

But this food... this food just took the cake. He would have to ask oh so nicely if he couldn't perhaps help prepare the food himself next time. He wasn't about to waste anything, but he did his damndest to turn his meal into something more palatable - at least in appearance.

[floraltempest.livejournal.com]

MOMO still wasn't feeling all that hungry by lunchtime, but she knew she needed to eat something. While she was still uneasy about the whole Special Counseling incident (even if those she had spoken to had assured her they held no grudges) it had also made her more determined to learn about the facility they were held within. In order to do that, she needed to go out again once night fell. And, if she hoped to accomplish anything then, she needed to make sure she kept her strength up. Skipping meals wasn't likely to do that, so she opted for a bowl of soup and a cup of juice for her lunch.

She failed to see anyone she readily recognized after glancing around the cafeteria, so she opted to sit alone for the time being. So, being careful not to let the soups broth spill over the edge of the bowl, the realian carried the tray to a vacant table and sat down.

[heraldric.livejournal.com]

Leon had actually been about to stare blankly back at Claude. My book, dummy. The journal I carried around all yesterday? But their conversation was interrupted by nosy nurses ushering them off to lunch. Not together, of course. They seemed to think that Leon wasn't hanging around enough "kids his age." And of course this was because he wasn't even attempting to.

The sandwich he was given seemed rather plain and unappealing, but he hadn't eaten too much over breakfast and crying made him hungry, so he started munching on it anyway. It tasted only slightly better than it looked.

[boot-i-licious.livejournal.com]

She shouldn't have felt as good as she did when the nurse escorted her into the cafeteria, but it really did make her feel happy to know that Allen and Ravi were here. While she hadn't seen Ravi, Allen's word was more than enough. The meal didn't look all that bad, either. An assortment of food very similar to what they might have served at the mess hall of the black order was before her in line. She took a sandwich and some soup, then took a small plate of salad with a modest helping of dressing, then found a table by herself to sit.

With Allen and Ravi here, there was no reason to despair. They'd get out and find their way back to their place and time somehow...and if they didn't, then they'd still be ok. She was worried about her friends back home, especially Komui, but Komui was smart and strong. He'd find them once they escaped, somehow.

[blacksustenance.livejournal.com]

Brock looked at the big, fat, All-American grilled cheese sandwhich on his plate and actually did turn slightly green this time. His stomach churned uncomfortably, stuck between starving and nauseated. He knew he needed to keep eating to take in fuel and replace the calories he was burning up to heal, but after last night, after getting used as a human punching bag, he wasn't sure if he had it in him to actually eat much. The thought alone made him feel sick.

And maybe it wasn't just the human punching bag part that was making him lose his appetite. It'd been hours since he woke up. He still didn't feel any different: just stiff, sore in places he had no right to be sore, and pretty much all-human.

He had to force himself to take a bite of the grilled cheese. It was pretty damn good, all things considered, but he still had to fight to keep it down. How long would it take to go back to normal? Was there anything he could do to speed up the healing process?

[notmyfather.livejournal.com]

Valyn was almost relieved to see that Keman had approached Renji on his own. Shana was sure to follow and stay close to her foster-brother. Valyn would be able to have a bit of peace and work things out in his mind without being disturbed.

He was once again wheeled to a table and left with some sort of mush to be ingested through a tube. He honestly didn't care at this point, the day was already making him feel tired.

Shana. Ancestors be damned, Shana had shown up. And he knew Keman would tell her the details of what had happened the night before, much as Valyn wished to keep them to as few people as possible.

Maybe he'd be able to get some much needed sleep tonight....

[afraidnot.livejournal.com]

[Waiting for Fai, but open for anybody who might have a motive/reason for joining them.]

A grilled cheese sandwich, even a big one, wasn’t what Raven would’ve preferred for lunch, but it would have to do. Why couldn’t they serve something healthier? Or at least given them some tea. Yes, herbal tea would’ve been very nice.

Amazingly enough she actually had plans for lunch that consisted of more than just sitting alone in the back. In her message exchange with Fai, she had agreed to answer his questions and tell him what she could about the wonderful Landel’s Institute. Similar to what she had done with Kyon, but with all the conveniences of lunch, if any.

Though she already stood out enough, Raven sat closer to the front (a first since arriving) so that it would be even easier for him to find her.