damned_institute | Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

Hitsugaya left the chapel no less frustrated than before. The head doctor once again had chosen not to hide his face, yet promised he would be making an appearance at some time in the near future. He didn't like being patient, but there wasn't much choice. Either the head doctor would show his face, or he wouldn't. Renji had already seen him, and knew how to find him. That was enough.

The thought of eating made him slightly nauseous as usual, but he knew he needed to get his strength up. He could either be weak and try to force his way through brunch without eating anything, or he could be smart and actually give himself something to eat. And there was rice. Rice and fruit. He took a heaping pile of rice, and grabbed as much watermelon as he could fit on his plate, then proceeded to an empty table. He scanned the room, watching for Momo. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their conversation, knowing how she'd acted yesterday; however, he knew he had to speak to her, and there was a good chance that she would show more restraint now that the drugs were out of her system.

Thoughtfully he consumed his rice and waited.

[free at the moment, pester if you wish]

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It was a moment before Raine realized she had company... she glanced up and then nodded to Yohji in greeting. She just didn't smile much here. "If you'd like. It's all right--we can never be sure how much time is left during the night."

She'd gotten rid of the sling, so at least he probably wouldn't ask after her health. She'd somewhat reluctantly left the glasses in her desk again, as well; she didn't really want to get used to them, as marvelous as lenses in this world were.

Putting the book aside for now, she pulled out her journal and a pen to write down the names of the drugs she'd been asking him about... she might not see him later, and this was as good a time as any. Using her right arm still made it ache, but as long as the pain stayed at acceptable levels, she'd ignore it.

"Did everything go all right?" she asked as she wrote, pausing over the spelling of an unfamiliar word here and there. She was probably coming across as uncaring, only asking because healers did that, but she was honestly concerned. It just didn't show much--and she was too unhappy to really care about that.

"Yeah, it's a real pain," Yohji replied dryly, settling himself in the seat opposite her. "And it always seems to cut out before you can get the most important thing done." Of course, there was the ever-present question of how they got back to their own rooms anyway, and how long passed between blacking out and waking up. Hell, the Institute could be doing hideous experiments on them while they were unconcious. It wasn't a reassuring thought.

He nodded. "I got back and started patching Omi up. I need to find him later though. I haven't seen him yet so he's probably still sleeping it off." He hoped. He really hoped.

"At least staying in one room makes things a little better in that regard," Raine said. "If I can't finish attending to someone before the night ends, I can be... reasonably certain they're taken care of before morning." She sounded a little bitter; while they slept, for however long that was, people who had been hurt got tended to better than anyone in her group could. By the same people who had caused the injuries in the first place, directly or not.

What little studying via observation she'd been able to do got her nowhere. If they were somehow drugged before being taken back to their rooms, that would make sense, but it was only a guess and she had no way she could think of to confirm it. Everyone seemed to react the same way to sedation, if nothing else, and she couldn't figure out how that would work. Valyn had reacted to it just like she had, and Keman. Valyn was a full elf, she was a half-elf and Keman was a shapeshifted dragon. How could something be formulated to work the same on everyone like that? Even magic didn't always have the same effects on everything...

And the fact that they got patched up was worrying in and of itself. Why set them up to be hurt so badly and then treat them, unless they didn't want them to die. They were being toyed with. "But morning can be a long way off sometimes," he said, catching the note of bitterness in Raine's voice. "A clinic like yours is a good thing to have. Not to mention its good to have any organisation," he continued, remembering Cliff's words. "It makes it easier to believe that progress is being made."

I wish I could be sure of that. "It's why I'm there," she said, glancing up at least briefly. She'd eaten most of her food, but then she hadn't taken much. When she first got to Sylvarant, she'd had to be told to eat at times then, too. Of course, then she'd been more concerned with making sure Genis was adapting well enough to a bottle, and he took so long to finish one that she'd had a reason to forget about filling her own stomach.

She'd despaired then, too--sent to a new world with baby Genis in her arms, unlikely to see their parents again, and no idea what to expect. They'd also been in danger then, if anyone found out what they were. Now... it felt different, but in many ways, it wasn't. She wasn't so alone this time; she'd made friends--even if she'd also lost the one family member she had left. She had no way of knowing if she'd ever get back, but she had last time--she'd traveled from Sylvarant back to Tethe'alla, and then used the same Gate to return the way they'd once come. She'd seen her mother again, even if it wasn't anything like a happy reunion, and even if her father had died a long time ago.

As much as knowing it didn't make her feel any better, Raine knew that she'd had worse. The last time this happened, she had been a scared little girl, sent away by her parents for reasons she didn't understand, and charged with caring for her baby brother. Now... there were others to take care of, as well as herself. She missed Genis as much or more as she'd missed her parents back then, but he was with friends. He would be all right. She had to make sure she was, too, for when they saw each other again.

Yohji nodded. "And you seem to be doing a pretty damn good job to me," he said. "I'm not a doctor or anything, but I've had to patch up a few people on the spot because of injuries and that place was better than I could have managed." They had real medical supplies for one. And yeah, maybe they would get patched up in the morning, but that didn't help any if you were already stone cold from blood loss.

"I actually got a doctor to say she'd get me a first-aid kit, so in theory, I'll have my own medical supplies soon," Raine replied. "Probably nothing different than what Tamaki has, but the more we don't have to improvise, the better." Finishing the list of medicines they had and what she was hoping Yohji could explain (she'd drawn a neat little chart), she handed it over.

"What I'm really hoping for is medical books; I'm not the only one who's unfamiliar with some treatment techniques, and this world seems to go beyond mine in overall knowledge--the downside to depending on magic. I know a few things for the times when healing spells aren't an option, but sooner or later it won't be enough." She didn't think it was a good idea to post what they were after on the board, but Tamaki probably knew enough people to spread the word about what they needed. He had a lot to learn about medicine, but he had organizational skills, and social connections. If he believed it or not, those were very useful; she'd have to ask if he'd mentioned the want for books to anyone.

"Sounds like a plan. If I find anything like that, I'll see that it gets to you. You'd probably have a better use for it than I would." He could manage with the basics and make it back to the clinics if he really needed something, rather than leaving the stuff to waste in his room.

He took the list and gave it a cursory glance and wrote down a few notes next to some of them. Everything he could remember; how many to take and allergic reactions and how strong they were. He just hoped that it helped.

"I'm afraid I can't help there," he said apologetically. "I only have experience in first aid. Patching up wounds and the like. Nothing more major. But there might be something upstairs or... I think the doctor's offices might have some medical books." He remembered seeing a few things which might be of help, he just hadn't paid too much attention."

"Thank you," Raine said gratefully, taking the list back. "Fortunately, there are at least a few groups focused on collecting supplies--though if any of them intend on giving us anything, I haven't heard about it." She read the information over, filing it away for future reference in case anything happened to her journal.

"I wish we had more people capable of healing spells, but since we can't count on it, one thing I've been considering is teaching basic techniques to anyone who's interested. I'm sure everyone knows how to deal with light to moderate bleeding, but it's not always obvious what to do or when things look more serious than they are." One topic she needed to learn more about was what was and wasn't common knowledge... she wasn't sure who to ask, but she'd figure something out.

"Nothing to thank me for," he replied smoothly. "I'm glad to repay you for the things I took in whatever way I can." Since he doubted that she'd want anyone assassinating in this place, he figured that helping out with what the drugs did was the next best thing.

He chuckled softly at the mention of healing spells. "Even having any healing spells is a step up from what I'm used to. My world had nothing like that." Well, he assumed it didn't, but then, before Schwartz, he'd always assumed that there weren't psychics either. "But yeah, lessons sound like a good idea, especially for some of the kids and those who can't fight."

"My main concern is when--during the day might be frowned on, but most people already have things to do at night." Raine figured she might as well get someone else's thoughts on the matter, and Yohji was level-headed enough to have some ideas. "Though for something like this, taking a night off to learn a few things would probably be worth it." Her voice was slightly dry. She didn't dare let herself worry that the doctors were just playing with them and there was NO way out; not everyone who vanished could possibly be dead.

She hoped, she hoped, she hoped.

"I've also heard people suggest fighting lessons for those who have never even started training; I haven't heard anything beyond that, but if anyone's teaching a specific style I might look into it myself. I know where to hit and how to block, but beyond that... not as much as I'd like." While she wasn't as good at she'd liked, she was still at a point where learning anything new took more than an evening. Regardless... she was reminded every time she moved her right arm that she needed to do something.

"I think nighttime might be best," Yohji replied honestly, leaning back in his chair and thinking it over carefully. "I don't know how well the nurses would take to large groups of people, and you wouldn't be able to use any teaching materials for practice. If people want to learn, then they'll be willing to learn at night."

If they didn't want to learn, then he doubted that having it during the day would get them interested.

"Fighting lessons would be a good idea too," he agreed. "I'd offer to help, but I tend to just strike out rather than anything more skilled," he said wryly. "And the weapon I normally use would be impossible to get here." Not to mention taking a hell of a long time to learn before you could use it without strangling yourself.

"My fighting skills aren't much beyond striking out either, but I'm guessing you also have the strength and agility to back it up," Raine admitted dryly. "I'm more than coordinated enough, but here are several reasons I pass for full elven--the strength I should have inherited from my human father is unfortunately a lie in my case."

Speaking freely about what she was still felt strange, but... not in a bad way. She had no reason to hide her heritage here, and it felt good to stop lying about it. She had no real reason to be ashamed of what she was, the Desians be damned, and now the people around her actually agreed. One thing to be said for this place.

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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