damned_institute | Day 27: Intercom, Evening

The intercom gave its cheery jingle just before the Head Doctor's equally buoyant voice rang through the halls.

"Ah, and finally, our day is coming to a close! Rooms and roommates have been reassigned with care, though what great partnership can start without a good meal? Ah, yes, after the nurses escort all of our patients, new and old, back to their proper rooms, everyone will have the chance to enjoy a savory chicken pot pie, full of peas, carrots, potatoes, and of course, chicken. On the side, we'll have buttery corn on the cob and green beans, and to drink, you may choose from the regular slew of water, milk, or assorted juices, which your nurse will bring to you.

"I believe that's all for now! Phew, long day, huh? I know I'll be happy to get some sleep, and thank you to all our vigilant doctors and nurses, although Dr. House seems to have gone AWOL... Hmm... Well, in any case, have a good dinner, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began organizing the patients for the small trek back to their rooms.

[ OOC: Remember, room threads go in response to THIS post, and please put your respective room number in the subject line of your first post. Thanks! ]

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Rangiku was quite happy to finally get to have a lie down. It had been a hectic day, not to mention stressful. At least she would be working with Gin tonight, and she knew they worked well together. And better her than any of the other shinigami.

Ugh, Kuchiki Byakuya. It just had to be him, one of the few shinigami she'd quite like to avoid working with on reputation alone. She wondered how Renji could stand working as his vice-captain. Some nobles were fine, like Kyouraku-taicho, and some took it entirely too seriously.

She flopped onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments, debating just going to sleep, but then she'd never wake up and she had things to do. Not to mention the lure of getting a sword.

Elphaba walked into the room, glanced at her roommate lying prone on her bed, and went to her desk to write, or at least she tried to.

Frustrated by how ineffectual she had been the previous night, Elphaba broke the silence, "Does the darkness always feel as it did last night?"

Rangiku looked up sleepily when Elphaba walked into the room, giving a lazy wave and a tired smile when the other woman entered. She pushed herself into a sitting position and reached out to snag the tray with her lunch on, transferring it to her lap safely. She needed to eat, especially after using kidou last night and who knew what they'd encounter tonight? But she'd doubtless need her strength for all of it.

The question took her a little off guard and she tried to remember the feeling for a moment before managing to place it. Oh! Gin! She'd got so used to feeling the flare of reiatsu from captains, especially recently that once she'd got accustommed to it, it had just become part of the air, something to be ignored.

She shook her head. "It's always ominous but the heaviness and bad feeling won't be around tonight, or it shouldn't be. Last night was an exception."

Elphaba breathed a small sigh of relief. She looked at her slowly cooling meal. This place always seemed to couple its meals with animal meats, but perhaps all of this constant falling asleep was the result of undernourishment.

"Do you think this dish is made of Chickens or chickens?" Elphaba asked.

Rangiku blinked when the woman repeated the same word twice. There was a little difference in intonation between the first and the second but not enough to give her any clues. She shrugged. "I assume there's a difference where you're from?" she began. "But it tastes decent enough and food should never be wasted." She could and would eat most anything edible if she had to. She was glad that they were feeding them decently here.

"Quite a large difference," Elphaba said, "though not so much anymore."

The girl was right though, she shouldn't waste food. Staring glumly at her plate, Elphaba began to eat, realizing that it had been quite some time since she'd had a hot meal.

"Oh, I suppose that would make quite the difference then," Rangiku replied consideringly. "For what it's worth, this place during the day seems at pains to ensure everything is steadfastly human, so I think it would be the normal kind of chicken."

Not that it tasted bad. She quite liked it in fact although she'd have much preferred some yakitori or maybe ramen. Even she was getting a little homesick for normal foods. "I'd much prefer some rice and fish right now though. Or yakisoba. Western food is very heavy."

"I think you may not quite understand," Elphaba replied, attempting to be gentle,"where I am from, at one point, there were many animals who were sentient, capable of thought and speech, and an equal number that were not. Thus a Cow could freely converse, and might even be willing to be milked, but a cow was simply a beast of burden."

"I see," she replied, her eyes widening at the very idea. The closest she supposed, in her world, were the hell butterflies which served as guides and methods of communication, but they weren't sentient as such. "Where I come from, only a small proportion of people ever need to eat and any animals are definitely not sentient. It's the same in the living world too." She frowned, thinking it over a little. "We have weapons, sword which are sentient. Parts of our souls."

"Living world?" Elphaba inquired.

Rangiku smiled slightly. She hadn't really intended the slip, but enough people knew that it wasn't such a bad thing. And she should know what she might be up against if Rangiku ever got taken as Gin had. "The world I come from is called Soul Society. It's the place where human souls go when they die, all being well. Among those are some with a large amount of spirit energy who can become shinigami, death gods. We guide the souls of dead humans from the living world to Soul Society and cleanse corrupted spirits called Hollows."

Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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