damned_institute | Day 27: Library

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Day 27: Library

Libraries, he'd found, were rarely as dull as people made them out to be. Though he felt no magic in these tomes, they were still full of useful information. Maybe some of them could tell him a little bit more about this world he'd landed himself in.

For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet? They'd all been fairly close together when they'd left Rekord, but he hadn't seen a trace of any of them. He was able to communicate easily with the people here though, which led him to believe Mokona was within a mile or so. Unless the ones running this little game had some other way to let all these other-worldly people communicate amongst themselves. In which case, the others could be very far away indeed.

The library had that wonderful smell of old books, and Fai traced his fingers along the shelves, skimming titles and pulling books that struck his fancy. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The War of the Worlds, and with a smile, he found Bram Stoker's Dracula as well. Raven had been telling the truth then, in spite of his own lies. Ought to be a good start. He sat leisurely at one of the tables and began flipping through his selections.

[waiting for Tamaki~]

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He hesitated, unsure what the question meant, exactly, and unwilling to say anything without thinking it through first. His expression remained neutral as he tried to decide how to answer. The trouble was, he didn't know anything about her. It made not walking over a conversational land mine a lot harder.

"Tell me who I'm not, and I can tell you who I am." Hopefully.

"You're not mine, but... I can hear it."

Hands absently clasping behind her back, Diva stepped forward, examining him closely with her impish gaze. Or maybe she wasn't. It was nearly impossible to tell with her; it made her innocent appearance all the more frightening for the average human.

"But you don't taste very good."

By this time, the sedatives were beginning to recede bit by bit.

Kain didn't move, other than a subtle shifting on his feet. As Diva started to focus, Kain could tell more and more that she was a danger. He just wasn't sure if she was a danger to him yet.

"I don't belong to anyone, no." He studied her, then nodded slightly. "We're alike. That's probably what you're feeling."

Yet not enough alike to "taste good", whatever that meant. Kain thought it was probably a good thing.

Well, she could tell that, at least. The ones that belonged to her were bright and their blood sang to her. That other Chevalier's did too, but in a different, underspoken way; he belonged to her twin, her opposite, of the same blood but not. Antagonistic.

But this... something had gotten one part wrong.

"No," said Diva. "We're not alike. Your blood is weak and runny." She giggled, because it was a funny joke to her - his blood seemed strong, but weak at the same time. Familiar but not. Not pure, though. Not even close. Only male, and that was why. "Tell me how you were made. You're weird."

Kain had no idea how to react. It was true that compared to a pureblood his line was weaker, but that was just how things were. He couldn't change his heritage, and he didn't want to. It was with that thought in mind that he didn't react to the jab.

"I was born," he murmured quietly, setting the book back onto the shelf to slide his hands into his pockets. His back hit the shelves as he settled against them. "Can you make ... whatever it is you're asking about?"

If Diva could, then he had to hope he could keep her interest like enough to convince her it might not be the best idea. If he could.

The girl was, by all accounts, focusing on small things at a time. At that very moment, her attention lay on Kain, and the buzzing little thoughts about the walls around her were quieted.

Taking another step forward, closing the distance, she scrutinized the other through half-closed eyes. Born! Like those things. The things Amshel could create with her blood, those puppet toys. She could only think of this one in those terms, as he was different from Chiropterans, and yet lower than her Chevaliers. "My blood creates everything, from the weak ones to Chevaliers. Everybody like us knows that, don't they. Pure blood is the only kind that creates."

Another step, and a pace to his right, like someone looking in at a twittering bird caught in a cage.

He had been expecting Diva to close the distance, had actually been a bit surprised that she had stayed back for as long as she did. Predators moved closer: They didn't stand watching for long. It bothered him though that, in this situation, he was technically prey. Still, he had faced a pureblood before (although the circumstances here were unique), and he kept his composure as she stepped to the side.

Kain let out a sigh, shrugging slightly, body otherwise still. "I wasn't created by blood. I was little. Then I grew. There are different ways to create things."

She reached for his chin then, her fingertips lingering on the curve on the curve of his cheekbone before gliding lower. Her expression was rather unreadable. Her Chevaliers would have called it a look of wicked mischief. It wasn't that he tasted bad.

But the other one tasted better; he was afraid and at the prime of emotion.

A long moment passed before Diva gave what could only be described as a near smirk. Amshel would be snippy if she created too many Chevaliers out of the same place, and if she had to pick between this one and the other, it would be the other. Dropping her hand, she clasped it neatly behind her back again, and twirled around. "You're still growing. You'll be old and dead at this rate. That's so boring."

Now that everything seemed over and done with, it was a nice time to eat. She still had to find Amshel and a dress. Not necessarily in that order.

Touch was a rare thing for Kain. Only two others ever initiated contact with him on purpose, but it just didn't happen very often, and it was usually in the form of a brief embrace. It was absolutely nothing like Diva's touch, and his hands balled into fists in his pockets as he resisted the urge to move his head away.

Fear and anger jockeyed for position as she turned, feelings that had been slowly boiling ever since he had woken up in a strange room alone. But in the end Kain felt those emotions calm. He just didn't have the sort of personality to maintain either for long.

When he spoke his tone was neutral and even. "You're wrong."

"You're not a proper Chevalier."

So she wasn't wrong about anything. That answered it all.

She appeared to think for a moment, looking back and forth around the room, and then at the bookshelves, and back to the occupants again. Diva smiled. "But there are so many tasty people to eat. At least you won't go hungry. There are just so many people to try."

Like that boy...

"You're wrong anyways," he said. "I don't need to be a Chevalier in order to think you're wrong."

For a very long moment he wished Gang Leader was here so he could deal with Diva instead. But he wasn't. It was just Kain, trying to make sense of this strange, dangerous woman when he was starting to feel exhausted.

He looked sincerely pained as he spoke, at least making the effort to keep his voice quiet. "No, there aren't a lot of people to "try". Not for you, or for me. You can't attack people randomly, and definitely not en masse."

She frowned at that, looking more puzzled as more words came forth. "You grow, so you'll die. That's the truth." Whoever called her wrong? She was more than correct about that. No one knew more about Chevaliers then she did - even more so than Saya-neesama. She had mothered many more than her sister.

And she knew that he was not the same, but still similar in that he preyed on the humans.

"Why not?"

For someone like Diva, hearing such words spawned an immediate sense of curiosity. Was there something wrong with the people?

"And if I stayed exactly the same with no end in sight, that would be boring," he said, sounding certain of himself. "Change is interesting. Not always positive, but interesting."

Kain wondered exactly what to say to explain why it was a bad idea to attack humans indiscriminately. Was it even his right to tell a pureblood what she couldn't do?

He sighed and lifted one hand to rake his hair back. "We're in a strange place. We don't know what the people in charge are capable of doing. If you stand out, then you'll draw attention to yourself and something bad could happen to you. For now it'd be better to blend in, and to do that you can't attack people randomly."

"Change is... interesting," repeated the Chiropteran. Change was an abstract thought to her, not something someone of her background had the skills to consider rationally. To her, change was just years passing, or bodies converting.

Mmm, to leave would be nice... But~

"But where am I? Did Amshel say to be good? I woke up not long ago and everyone was gone... and then these awful humans put a needle in me again. Oh, and then there was this man..." She turned back, an abrupt pivot on her heel. "So?"

His fingers stayed in his hair as he stared at her. Not just dangerous, but essentially a blank slate. Great. How did you explain to a child about abstract terms and strange situations?

Whatever the case, he had to make sure she wouldn't attack someone randomly.

"It's a bad place. A prison called Landel's. Anything the humans -- the ones with the needles -- tell you isn't true. Amshel ... Amshel said to be good." Or Amshel would say for Diva to be good, if he were here and had any intelligence whatsoever. "If you stay good, the awful humans won't use those needles on you." He hesitated, then went on. "When the sun sets, though, there are monsters. Things that don't wear these uniforms." He plucked at his shirt to illustrate what he meant by "uniform". "Those things you can hurt."

She sighed lightly, as though she hadn't just heard news that would potentially frighten or disturb normal people. What a liar! The rest was unknown to her, but Amshel had definitely not said to be good. Or if he had, or would, it wouldn't be to a stranger. And Amshel's idea of 'good' always had been flexible...

Then Diva smiled to herself, squeezing her eyes shut briefly and giving her face a cherubic sense of innocent amusement before she opened them again.

She was more shrewd than a typical child, and that made her more of a danger.

"You know, an easier way to stop those awful humans is to just kill them," said Diva. It was hard to tell whether she was being her usual ambivalent self, or mocking. Ne, Kain, what are you going to do when you get hungry?"

"Considering you got stabbed with a needle, I really doubt killing the nurses is possible for either of us right now, and if you hurt the patients then no one will want to help you," he said patiently. "If you want to do it anyways, I can't stop you all the time, but I have no reason not to tell you what I think is best for right now."

Kain ignored the question about what he would do when he got hungry, because he was sure he could feed without attracting attention. He wouldn't hesitate when the time came.

He looked tired as he tilted his head back against the shelf. "Don't play games, Diva. At least not with me. Not here. There's enough to figure out without trying to understand you, too."

She giggled, holding her hand up to her mouth in a ladylike gesture - that, of course, didn't detract from the fact she was royally amused and couldn't contain it. Some of it reminded her very much of Solomon, while other bits were just stupid. Humans helping Diva! Like Saya-neesama!"

Once her giggling had faded to a soft hum, she glanced up at Kain from underneath her eyelashes. "Hmmm... there's nothing to understand. They'll take you when you're least expecting it, hold you down and experiment on you until you scream, torture and drug you, make you fight for your life, then they'll kill you. It's all very simple."

Breaking the serious facade with which she'd spoken, Diva giggled again.

"They make a good shield," Kain explained easily. "Humans would be willing to sacrifice themselves for you if you don't attack them." Mainly because she was a girl and pretty. If Diva played the completely innocent card she'd be looked after.

His eyes shut as he relaxed, smiling humorlessly. "They won't kill. Not on purpose anyways. They wouldn't go through the effort of getting us all here just to let us die. But the rest sounds about right."

Silly, silly, silly.

"Chevaliers shall make better sacrifices." She smiled sweetly at that. "I don't need humans; I'll use them to make something better."

But 'us', now? There was no 'us'. It was her, the humans, and these strange ones that were neither kind of her children. Nothing mattered beyond that, because she was wake and free, and the only instrument that could grievously harm her was not here.

From his turn of speech, however, Diva made a quick assumption and turned back on Kain, attention temporarily pricked again. If he had been here awhile, he had to know something - or he wouldn't run at the mouth as he did, all authoritative. "Hey tell me! Where can I get my dress?"

She just wasn't getting it, and he didn't think she'd ever really get it. He could only try to insert logic into her mindset for so long before he had to give up. If he had any idea what she was thinking he'd have to correct her and say he meant "us" in a far more general term that didn't really include Diva. But he didn't, so he didn't say anything further.

"They probably destroyed the clothing we were wearing when they took us." He didn't think they'd keep useless articles of clothing anyways. "If they kept them then they're on the second floor." They wouldn't keep anything useful on the first floor within easy reach.

If only the vampire knew what the Chiropteran Queen knew. Or what havoc she could wreak once she cast her eye on something. The one, true threat to the human race didn't approve of this 'us' term being used again, nor of the comment about destroying her dress.

She expressed this considerable displeasure with a pout.

"What else do you know? Where have all my Chevaliers gone to?" If she had found him, then he would have been able to sense them in turn. The look in his eye when she had approached was proof enough that he could at least tell that.

"If you can't sense your -- " Chevaliers was French, he remembered then, language lessons having been a long time ago. Knights? " -- Chevaliers, and I haven't sensed them, then they aren't in the building." Of course, with so many people, so much blood from the patients, it was possible he was wrong.

"But I don't know for sure. You could use the bulletin board in the room outside of this one. People use it for getting in touch with people they know." Kain hadn't gotten to see it in any great detail for himself yet. His nurse tended to move fast and seemed to expect him to do the same.

For a moment, she just cocked her head at the comment about the bulletin board.

Perplexed, she said, "I can't," as thought it should be obvious.

Kain looked at her then smiled, truer than the last, though it was still faint. That made things a bit difficult.

"I'll keep an eye on it, then, and maybe tomorrow write something for you. We can go over the basics of how to write, if you want." Both were completely honest offers. He couldn't imagine not being able to read, write, or both.

Day 27: Library

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