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.

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Rinali would have expected a lot of reactions from Arietta. Hiding in a corner in terror, disbelief, or even the same reserved demeanor the girl had been showing previously all would have been perfectly acceptable reactions. Her apparent desperation to escape into the halls, however, left Rinali with a profound sense of confusion.

"I...don't know," she answered earnestly. "This is my first night here, too. Allen just said it happened at night."

Arietta frowned again as she looked back at the door. She was a bit angry that Rinali couldn't tell her more, but at least she had told Arietta the most important thing: that her friends could be out there.

"Then I'll wait." She hovered around the door then, like some kind of guard dog. She intended to leave the second the door opened. She had to go and find her friends, the few remaining from her liger family especially. The possibility that these monsters might not be her friends crossed her mind a few times, but she was sure that at the very least she would be able to communicate with them to find out where her real friends were.

Rinali blinked a few more times, obviously confused. "You're not planning on going out there by yourself, are you?" she asked in mild disbelief. "Everyone's warning it's not a good idea to go alone. There are creatures that look like friends but aren't...it's easy to be fooled if you're by yourself."

She couldn't understand this girl's behaviors, and as long as Arietta chose to remain unfriendly, there wasn't a lot she could do to comprehend them.

The door still hadn't opened. That meant Arietta was pretty much stuck listening to this girl. She didn't have time for this! She had to leave, now!

"I can take care of myself," she snapped, "I have before." That wasn't entirely true. She had always had someone, whether it was Mommy or Ion or her friends. Here, she didn't have anyone at all.

But her friends could be out there! That was why she had to go! It was obvious that Rinali was just another one of them, those mean people who couldn't understand her friends. "Everyone calls my friends monsters! They even killed Mommy because she was a monster! The monsters here could be my friends!" Her voice had risen over the course of her outburst, and she was visibly shaking by the time she was done. Her friends were definitely out there, and she was going to find them.

"So can I," Rinali answered, feeling the weight of the lie as she said it. It wasn't exactly a lie. She could take care of herself, but there had always been someone there for her. Komui, mostly. She needed her friends, she knew. That was just the way things were.

"I have a friend where I came from," she snapped back, "They called him a monster too. But I'm going to trust my friends, who've told me that the things out there aren't misunderstood. They work for this place that holds us captive, whoever they are!"

She took a deep breath to calm herself. Her roommate's anger was contageous. "I don't like this any more than you do. Maybe I can keep an eye out for your friends, though. What do they look like?"

The monsters worked for this place? Arietta's friends would only help her. Maybe they weren't Arietta's friends after all, but she wouldn't know unless she got out there and looked. It was the only help she had to hold onto right now.

Looking considerably depressed now, rather than angry, Arietta was able to answer Rinali with some decency. "One of my friends is a liger, with yellow fur and stripes and a big bushy tail." Describing it was a little awkward. Arietta wasn't used to such things.

"Then there's Sync and Largo. Sync has green hair but he always wears a mask so you can't see his face. Largo is really big and strong, and he kinda looks like a liger. Van is also really strong. I guess then there's Dist, Legretta, and Asch but I don't know them well enough to be friends with them." That was probably the most Arietta had said to the other girl all night.

Rinali frowned slightly. She didn't like it that Arietta looked so depressed, but it was still better than blind desperation. The fact that she was willing to give some details about her friends and string together more than just short and curt answers was also a good sign. If they were going to be here for a few days longer, it wouldn't hurt to make a few friends along the way, and she certainly didn't want to be stuck in the same room every night with someone she couldn't get along with.

She listened to Arietta's descriptions of her friends very carefully, taking note of everything she could. Most of their descriptions weren't very helpful or useful. A 'really strong person' could be one of any number of people here, she imagined. Of course, several of her descriptions didn't seem to mean anything she recognized.

"What's a liger?" she asked once Arietta had finished with her descriptions.

Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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