damned_institute | 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]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

((I hope you don't mind the company....? If so, let me know and he's gone. ^^))

Faust sighed, more than a little relieved to finally be allowed out of bed. The staff had said he'd had some chest troubles, but that was impossible. His heart... well, it might not have been in the best of shape, but nothing he did to it seemed to make it actually stop. It probably had something to do, then, with the physical chest. Ah well. They had given him a few lovely doses of medication and that had soon put him right again.

He'd missed a trip into town, his nurse said, and he wondered if he would have found something nice for his love there. A gift, perhaps? He shook his head and walked to food lines, frowning. He wasn't terribly hungry, but a few bits of fruit and a glass of milk would do fine for now.

He spotted a young woman seated alone and looking miserable. Knowing he wouldn't be great company anyway, he thought she could at least use a non-hostile face for a while. Unless she had friends...

"Hello there," he said with a tired smile. "May I sit with you?"

((company is more than welcome! :D)

Nadine looked up, eying the man suspiciously. She didn't know him, but she didn't know many people at all. Hell, she didn't even remember her roommate's name. She knew Javert and Alec, only because they were the men who took care of her. They protected her. She knew she'd be dead without them.

And Javert had given her a weapon.

"Yeah, sure," she finally said, waving her hand at a seat across from her. "Knock yourself out."

Faust took his seat and set the tray down. She certainly didn't appear very interested in his company, but the room was filling quickly and he really didn't feel up for another search for a seat.

"Thank you very much," he said as politely as possible. He knew he had to look terrible. Even when he was feeling well, how many times had Manta and the others been frightened of him? And now... Couldn't really be helped.

"My name is Johannes Faust. May I know yours?"

"Nadine." Her disinterest was nothing personal. She just wasn't much of a people person these days. Which was probably all the better - she knew how she looked. Crazy. But she wasn't crazy. She was just...traumatized. Perfectly normal reaction to being chosen, stalked, manipulated and nearly raped by what was, as far as she could tell, Satan.

"Cross," she added. "Nadine Cross. Faust, huh? Like that guy who made the deal with the devil?"

Faust chuckled and nodded, though he seemed slightly embarrassed. "The very same. I'm the eighth of his bloodline actually." He shook his head and spread his hands.

"Though I have made no deals with any devils myself." Not for lack of trying of course. If it would have brought his love back, he would have done it without hesitation. However, his ancestors notes were clear on what would happen should he attempt it.

The skepticism on Nadine's face was clear.

"Right," she said. It was just a book. Or maybe it was a poem. She didn't know, she'd never read it. But she remembered it from college. But then again, she was trusting her life and what remained of her sanity to a man from hundreds of years ago. Maybe it wasn't that strange or improbable.

Faust was used to people not believing him. It wasn't a big deal in the long run and people only tended to believe him when he was .... well, he was trying to keep his mind about him, so people hopefully wouldn't make the connection.

"Miss Cross," he ventured politely. "May I know where and when you are from?"

"New York." Nadine pushed her food around on her plate. "Manhattan, and the nineteen eighties." She had left New York, but it was the only place that had ever really been 'home'. She'd lived in Free Zone, with Harold, but she didn't like thinking about that. Just thinking of Harold made her skin crawl.

"I was living in Colorado before I came here, though. Of all the places to rebuild society after the world ended, who would have thought it would be Colorado?"

Faust nodded. He knew about New York, despite never having been there for more than a week once during his studies.

And that had been in the early nineties. After his beloved had ... passed. He fought to keep a neutral expression on his face.

"The end of the world?" He was curious about this idea.

"Yeah." Nadine's tone held a very clear 'weren't you listening?' tone. "End of the world. Apocalypse. The great plague, wrath of god, good versus evil in an epic battle to decide the fate of humanity, all of that. It came, and it was bad, and I don't really like talking about it all that much."

She didn't honestly care about the world's end. It hadn't all been bad. She'd found Larry - sweet, wonderful Larry. God, she missed him. She could have been his, if he'd only listened. But it led to questions about herself that she didn't want to answer. She could ignore the deaths she'd caused - but she hadn't really done anything, it had been Harold, and Harold... Flagg had made that decision.

Jealous bastard.

Faust bowed his head apologetically.

"Forgive me miss," he said as politely as he could. "I didn't mean any harm in my question. The world has yet to end where I'm from and was merely curious."

He tried another tired smile. "Have you been trapped here long Miss Cross?"

"I don't know." Nadine shrugged. "A few days, maybe. Maybe more. I don't... I don't know." Time had been a vague and elusive thing even before she came here. She'd lost track of things like days of the week. Without newspapers or a job or television, what did they mean?

"It's not like it really matters, does it?"

Faust shrugged. "It might matter, it might not. Sometimes, the people that have been here longer have useful information." He picked up his glass and looked at it for a moment.

"Of course, those that have been here longer seem to run a higher risk of disappearing..." He took a drink from the glass.

"I haven't been here very long." She knew that. "Probably a few days. I don't... I don't really keep track. I used to keep track of the days of the week by what was on TV." People disappearing. She'd heard something about that. She didn't know anyone it had happened to, but statistically, that wasn't surprising.

"I don't really know much of anything, so if you were hoping to get answers, you're shit out of luck."

Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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