damned_institute | Nightshift 27: M1-M40 block hallway

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Nightshift 27: M1-M40 block hallway

[From here]

Recluse turned the corner into the cell block hallway, still internally ranting about Landel. He was used to being the one in control of people like that infuriating doctor. There was a whole recruitment program for 'Mad Scientists' in Arachnos.

The vast majority of them ended up being killed by their on projects. Often in quite amusing, bloody, agonizing ways. That one little thought made everything seem just a little bit better.

[to here]

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Riza wondered at Fai's words. Was he optimistic because he didn't believe what he'd been told, or because he didn't need weapons to be effective?

"Fai, you will have to forgive me if my question sounds strange, but do you . . . have any abilities that would be considered unusual? Either by your people or the people here?"

The easy answer, the correct answer, was 'yes.' However, he'd prefer people not know about those. Even if they did, he wasn't going to use them. He'd promised himself.

"I have a lot of training, I guess?" Fai shrugged his shoulders lazily. "I traveled a lot, so I had to be proficient in whatever was around."

Riza nodded. Being proficient in whatever was around was exactly the sort of skill that would suit Fai best here. Perhaps the two of them were somewhat similar: she could make a decent offense or defense out of almost any solid object--not great, but decent. As such, she knew their best course of action in many cases tonight would be to flee.

"And how much do you know about Harry?"

That seemed to be enough to satisfy her, for which Fai was grateful. Once she'd gotten the information she wanted, she moved on. Very military indeed.

Fai scratched his head at her next question. "Not very well at all," he said with a bit of a laugh. "We just exchanged some pleasantries on the message board. He was thinking of going out alone tonight and I just tried to dissuade him. At least he listened. He seems like a nice enough kid."

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/219535.html?view=16295311#t16295311)]

"I'm not a kid," Harry said defensively as he caught the end of what Fai was saying and was just arrogant enough to assume they were speaking of him. Hoping that Snape would just assume he had heard a bit more of the conversation instead of point out how self-centered that made him seem, Harry added, "Where I come from I'm of age." In the Wizarding world, Harry was a full adult and he had gotten used to being treated as such, even if Mrs Weasley was still a bit over-protective, the other adults had all treated him as if he were one of them.

Remus had even... Don't think about him, Harry reminded himself quickly. Now was not the time to remember the bodies that had been laid out on the Great Hall floor.

"We got the map," he added hastily, holding up the paper for the two blonds to see.

Severus raised an eyebrow - a favorite facial maneuver though he would never admit to it - at Harry's assumption. Then again, the boy was probably right. Not that he was going to admit to that either.

He decided to stay quiet for now, though he found Harry's defensiveness about his age somewhat amusing. Silently he kept watch on the people around them, though none seemed to be paying much attention to their little group.

Riza looked toward the halls as the two emerged again, relieved that they had returned so quickly. Fai's company was pleasant, of course, but pleasantries were usually reserved for the daylight hours, somehow more bizarre than the night. As for the matter of age, she decided it would do the "boy" a greater service if she ignored the conflict altogether.

"Let's see the map, if you don't mind, Harry. Or have you already found somewhere promising to try for?" She glanced between Harry and the tall professor, wondering if they might have already studied it. She would feel more prepared if she could study it herself, but trusting their judgment was only practical. She had other questions, but they could be asked en route. The map was more important while they were still stationary and in a calm location.

Besides that, she wasn't quite ready to bring up the idea of "unusual abilities" again.

"Of course not, of course not," Fai smiled and put his hands up in a comically defensive position. "I was just talking to Riza about some of my friends back home. He's a few years younger than you I'd think. Still got some growing up to do." He wasn't sure exactly why lies seemed to come so easily, more readily than the truth ever did.

He shrugged, "Anyway, that's a story for another time." He nodded to the map they'd retrieved much quicker than anticipated. "Obviously the pair of you are pretty competent, right?" He gave a short laugh, "If anyone has yet to prove themselves, it's probably me."

Riza was the one in charge, so he stayed quiet about the rest. Taking care of the map and their travel route was her decision, not his. Still, he smiled brightly at the professor that stood near Harry. Perhaps he was just getting sentimental, but that gruff attitude and scowling face so reminded him of Kuro-nyan.

"I'm not sure what we're looking for," Harry admitted, dropping the subject of his age easily as they moved onto details of the map. He handed the paper to Riza.

He noticed the way that Fai smiled at Snape and secretly thought that was a completely lost cause. The blond didn't seem to mind as much, though and that was a little more than amusing. He tried to keep his face serious though, as he looked at Riza.

"You seemed to have some plans as to what we need to do tonight so I'll do whatever you think is best."

Now that they were closer to actually starting to get something done tonight Harry couldn't help but feel a ball of anticipation in his stomach. He rubbed his forehead lightly as he watched Riza. The scar wasn't hurting and by then he had realized Voldemort had nothing to do with this place, but it was still something he had picked up over the years of having his head throb with the scar as the source.

Severus couldn't help but scowl at the proceedings. At how quickly Harry had handed over the map. And at...Fai, who seemed to be grinning at him. He gave a silent huff and ignored the boy. Having Harry look at him with something other than scorn was one thing, but he didn't want to make a habit of having starry-eyed children following after. His reputation as the most feared professor at Hogwarts would be endangered. Still, he couldn't help but find it a nice change that people weren't questioning and resenting his every movement (at least not to his face), so he kept quiet.

Keeping as respectful a distance as possible - or rather, working very hard to stay out of touching range - He sidled closer to Hawkeye.

"If I may?" his voice sounded gruff but as polite as he was capable of. Hoping that she wouldn't mind too much, as that may lead to some relational tension that wouldn't be productive, he studied the map in her hand for a moment before returning to his place beside Harry. He hoped his actions were clear enough: he went where the boy went.

She hardly noticed the gruffness in the professor's voice, let alone mind it. It was the sort of voice she heard most often in the military . . . in fact, his was kinder, if even on the surface. When he stood at her side she freely shared the view of the map as she tried to absorb its details. It was much more elaborate than she had expected, and she silently commended Renji for his thoroughness. She hoped Harry thanked him properly for it.

She returned it to Harry when she felt she'd memorized the important locations and general layout, thanking him, then glancing at all three of them as she spoke further. "Our plans for finding medical supplies tonight are the suggestion of Colonel Mustang, my commander where I come from. I had previously intended to try the hall of doctors' offices for lack of a better idea, but thanks to Harry's map, we can try for the pharmacy upstairs instead. If you agree to continue with this assignment, I will thank you for accompanying me now."

Her manner felt awkward even to her, but she was trying not to be too heavy-handed. Even so, she intended to carry out the task assigned to their group even if she did it alone, and regarding their immediate goal, she felt there was no room for compromise. How they reached that goal, however, was open to reasonable discussion, and she didn't trust anything would go according to plan anyway. Her experience with Psycho Mantis during their simple visit to the entrance room was still very fresh in her mind.

With one last glance to each of them, hoping they were still willing, she added, "Let's continue any discussion on the way."

[ heading here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/230777.html) . ]

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Nightshift 27: M1-M40 block hallway

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