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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"I know," Daemon replied quietly, trying to compose himself once more. "I know. But this place can't be left standing. They brought us once before, they could bring us again. If we leave, this place must be left a ruin. They can't be allowed to continue this."

There was a logic to that, the same logic that had apparently driven Jaenelle to purge the taint from the Realms. Evil like this couldn't be allowed to fester to rise again. He nodded. "I understand." Involving them made this battle theirs now, to see through until it was completed.

He mustered a smile, a weak, broken thing to be sure. "Then we must work to make them regret snatching two Black-Jewelled Warlord Princes." He wondered if whomever had taken him had realized just how powerful they could be if they could get their Jewels and full power back.

Daemon gave a low laugh, but there was little humour in the sound. "If they have any idea of the combined strength of even a few of the many they have brought here, then they are either insane or very confident in the extent of their own control."

He shook his head, taking a deep, shuddering breath as he struggled to regain his own control. The few days he'd been here had given him something to focus on, other than the endless waiting that had been slowly driving him mad back home. His focus wasn't gone, and if anything, having his father at his side, it would make his resolve all the stronger.

He nodded, grateful to see Daemon get himself under control. "So far, I can see they have reason for that confidence." Just from the evidence of what had been done to him, they had great power at their disposal.

"So if night is when people more around more freely, how close is that? I was told I'd slept through 'most of the day.."

Daemon glanced at the clock, judging the times. "We'll be taken back to our rooms shortly for dinner there. Shortly after dinner, the lights will go out and the doors will unlock and the voice of the doctor will... change, slightly. You'll be able to hear it. At night, everything is dark, which is why you need the flashlight you'll find under your pillow."

"Rather than wandering out, I can come find you as soon as the doors unlock. We can find a way to meet up with Ren, and River, if she wishes, after that."

Saetan glanced at the clock as well. He hadn't noticed it. He made mental note of his son's advice. "You know your way around here. I do not. That sounds like a fair plan to me. I'd like to meet your other companions." He still wasn't certain they'd all accept him as easily as River had, but that was not a problem for the moment.

_{[CRASHING YOUR THREAD, DUDEZ.]}

Interesting. That was the word to describe having breakfast and lunch with Ojou in a mental institution. Not that he hadn't ever eaten meals with Ojou in strange places before - although, granted, Ojou didn't often participate in whole meals for very long. Yeah, interesting. That was it.

With Ojou settled somewhere else for the time being, the doll figured he would end the final group shift by at least getting in touch with Daemon. Obviously the board just wasn't a good idea... with River around... Anyway, he wasn't a fan of interruptions when there was an involved conversation going on, but he felt it was the lesser of two evils. Being trapped long term in a place with gigantic leeches kind of restricted his options when it came to sitting back and letting things unfold for themselves.

"Hey," he said, coming up on the two men. Looked like someone Daemon knew personally just from his actions - which was an odd thought, because that meant they'd both found familiar persons within the same afternoon - although he didn't let the suspicion show. "Hope you guys don't mind, but I figured I'd come find you." Giving a bow to the elder and unfamiliar man, he said, "I'm Ichimoto Ren."

"This is Ren, who I mentioned earlier," Daemon spoke to his father, turning to shoot the young man a small smile. "Ren, this is my father..."

He paused, realizing for the first time that he was uncertain about who he should be introducing his father as. Especially after his father had mentioned wanting to keep things about him secret. Would the High Lord of Hell be known elsewhere?

Saetan nodded to the young man. "I'm Saetan SaDiablo." His name he could live with. The rest was irrelevant wasn't it? "Are you one of the people Daemon travels with at night?"

The doll let the hesitation slide; more or less, the fact that this was apparently Daemon's biological father... gold eyes... age was relative, right? Better not to think about it.

He almost, kind of cocked an eyebrow at the name Saetan though, but resisted the impulse.

"We've spent most of our nights together, yeah. Sorry to see you're here - seems today I found someone I recognized as well." He glanced at Daemon briefly, then said, "Don't know how we want to go about our group situation tonight, but I'm going to pen out those maps I saw for you guys. If we do decide to split up, I'll drop it off for you first."

"If you're wanting to pick up your companion for tonight, we can meet back at the leech bathroom before heading out?" Daemon offered the suggestion to Ren, looking thoughtful. "Unless you and your friend wish to split off on your own?"

"We don't mind accompanying you still unless you and your companion had other plans," he added, then glanced to his father for confirmation.

"Oh, I would like to meet everyone, if it doesn't interfere with previous laid plans," he purred. This hurried planning for meetings seeemed typical of here from his limited observation. He marvelled at the ease Daemon exhibited with other people, especially non-Blood.

He didn't smile at the other young man. He had some feeling that would be too much. But he did notice him taking in their similarities--their resemblance to one another couldn't be missed. How long would it be before those here knew that Daemon Sadi's father had joined them?

Ren shook his head and smiled somewhat softly. "Sure, I'd also like to stay in a group. I asked her - she wants to meet you."

No doubt Ojou had her own motives, or perhaps she was just taking her servant's advice until she was better acquainted.

"Kind of odd that we're being taken in groups, don't you think? Anyway, any plans for tonight?"

"There are people being taken upstairs to be tortured," Daemon confided quietly. "At least, Renji seems fairly certain of this happening. I told him I couldn't go along to assist him, but we might head up as a separate group to help lend a hand, unless you had some other ideas?"

Assisting sounded like a wonderful idea to Saetan. He wanted to let Daemon and those more familiar with the Institute plan their activities. No doubt by morning, he'd have ideas of his own.

"How many people are we talking about now?"

Yeah, right, the experimentation. The young kid Farfarello had mentioned that during their shower conversation. It wasn't the most benign hurdle to direct Ojou at, but it wasn't like he could just withdraw now, and let this group go on their own.

At the elder's question, Ren glanced to Daemon, unsure if there had been a change in plans. "Well, so far that makes four of us. If River-san is also coming along, that's five. I have to stop by the women's area to grab my friend first, and by the looks of things, River-san is pretty good at finding us on her own."

One psychic, and two men that had probably had a wide array of abilities.

Ojou might very well hate him for this. He'd have to talk to her again.

"I'm sure River will find us if she's not occupied elsewhere," Daemon replied with a nod, glancing over once more to the young woman was still deeply involved in conversation with the woman he was guessing he'd had words with over the bulletin board. His temper flickered faintly in recollection, but he stifled it quickly.

"I will have to find my father and you will have to find your friend, so we may end up traipsing a bit before reconnecting. Shall we meet back outside the leech bathroom, then, and head out from there, once we are ready?"

Saetan could certainly tell something was irking Daemon, but he'd have to ask about it later. "That is a large group. Is it safer that way?" There could be severe disadvantages traipsing so large a group through narrow corridors.

To believe that Ojou wouldn't be uncomfortable by their traveling companions was a long shot, but there wasn't much else for it. Ren sighed, turning his gaze away from the young lady that Daemon had glanced at.

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's just hope it's not infested again." At Saetan's inquiry, he offered his input with a grain of salt: "It's probably safer than moving in a group smaller then three. A smaller gathering makes for an easier target, after all."

"So we've found out," Daemon replied ruefully. "Most groups seem to travel in numbers of three to five, at least that's how they're organized on the board, when I've glanced through evening arrangements. It sounds like a settled plan, then. I'll get word to River before we're separated for dinner so she knows what's being planned."

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Day 27: Library

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