damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

Hitsugaya woke with a start.

His entire body ached, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. His injuries had been tended two with clean gauze and bandages, and he found every movement wasn't agony. He wasn't in the best of shape, but thanks to the miracle of landel's strange time distortion, he had mostly recovered from the vile poison without having to waste anyone else's talents.

And in his hand, still...there was the key.

He dressed quickly, sliding the key onto the key ring from his desk drawer and stuck it into his pocket. Whether the key stood to gain them anything or not, it stood as a vital reminder that they could succeed in this place. There was hope, as insignificant as it often seemed. They could beat this place.

That small shred of hope made getting up worth it.

The nurse who escorted him to breakfast was cheerful, and commented idly about how wonderful it was to see young Tommy Winters up and about again after his unfortunate run-in with a bad case of food poisoning. He smirked slightly, knowing that any lies the institute forced into their heads were only that: lies. He wouldn't buy it for a second. And on top of that, the concept of muffins sounded almost appetizing. While he still preferred his authentic Japanese cuisine, the food here was slowly becoming more and more bearable. He would have preferred a warm bowl of sweet nattou over rice over the mufffins, but they would do. The plain yogurt and fruit, on the other hand, was excellent. He piled his plate high with fruit as usual, and got several small bowls of yogurt as well.

Finding the most convenient table to the end of the food line, he took a seat and scanned for the new arrivals. New arrivals meant people who would be lost and confused. Renji did a good job of making a bulliten post last time...he should recommend abarai-fukutaicho do the same again this time.

[Waiting for Angel]

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Keman blinked, a little thrown by Shadow's sudden concern, but gratified by it at the same time. Maybe his friends cared more about him than he'd so pessimistically thought just moments before.

"I know, I know," he muttered, almost irritably. "There's another dragon here--a really old dragon, older even than Father Dragon. I...wanted to show him that I'm not just another stupid little kid." It sounded so...juvenile aloud.

Oh well.

"He said he'd teach me how to make swords if I showed him what I was capable of. Guess I went a little overboard. But...no, I'm fine now. Just a little tired. I'm feeling a lot better now that I've got food in me."

"Wait, there's another dragon here?" Shadow asked incredulously. "They're not someone you know, are they? Someone else from our world or is it possible that other worlds have dragons as well?"

Dragons being more then myth was still a new concept for Shadow and knowing there were dragons from other worlds was even more fantastic. He shook his head feeling bewildered. "Well, even if he is your elder you shouldn't have to impress him. Tonight we can find a way to arm ourselves so that we don't have to rely on our magic. It would probably be the best thing to do. Otherwise, we'll all spend mornings like this trying to recover from overdoing it the night before."

Keman smiled at that. He'd never told Shadow, had he?

"No, he's from another world. But technically, so are the rest of the dragons in our world. We aren't exactly a native species--we came through a Gate from our home world about a hundred years after the Elves did. So...I wasn't exactly surprised to find out about it." Though the way that Kurikara had called himself the "king of the Dragons" was still kind of intriguing. He'd have to ask him about that someday.

"Yes, I know. It was a dumb move to make. And...yeah, I agree. Hmm. I'm all right with a knife..."

"It's all myths and legends to me," Shadow shrugged. "But I guess if Dragons can exist in the first place then I suppose I can believe you came through the gate and that other dragons can exist in other places. I just won't think about it too much and accept what is presented to me.

As for the knives, I believe Valyn has two but admittedly one does not belong to him. So tonight we can look for knives for all of us. By then, perhaps your magic will have come back and maybe you can make the knives better, sharper, more effective. It's just a thought but maybe if you focused more on improving what's already there instead of manipulating the metal into a new shape it may use less magic."

Shadow took a drink from his glass of water. "That was certainly long winded," he laughed at himself. "I think that's the most I've said in a long time."

"I don't know about that," Keman said, laughing. Shadow did seem like he was pretty fond of talking. "Certainly the most you've said this morning, but the most you've said in a long time? Nah, probably not." His eyes were twinkling. Suddenly hungry, he grabbed a muffin off of Shadow's plate and took a big bite.

"I know about Valyn's knives--one belongs to someone named...Adel-something. It's a big, bulky thing with a wooden handle. Not sleek, like the ones Valyn used at home. And yes, I think you're right."

"If you could modify the knives so that they were sharper and stronger perhaps we could-"

Shadow's voice was cut off as he heard the sudden shouting and the sounds of a fight. He turned in time to see a huge brawl with swarms of patients and nurses in the middle.

"Look at that," Shadow whistled, happy to keep his distance. "I wonder what started it all. Hey, feel like making a wager? Two of these sweet breads says that the nurses get it under control in five minutes."

Keman grinned. This was more like it! He applauded the (futile) efforts of the patients starting to riot, but he hadn't liked being sedated, and he wasn't in any hurry to repeat the experience.

"I see your wager, and I raise you another sweet bun. Three says that we all end up getting herded back to our rooms for the rest of the day."

"I'll take that wager," Shadow smiled, watching as the brawl seemed to grow. "Though I can't say I fancy spending a day in my room."

He looked around the room and noticed that most of the attention was being given to the brawl. "I wonder..." Shadow said, eying the door. "If we're all going to get herded back to our rooms anyway, what harm would it be if we decided to just ... leave."

"My roommate's nice enough," Keman shrugged. "He's quite young, but he seems fairly intelligent. But...I had an...appointment." He looked away, cheeks a little pink. He wasn't about to let Shadow know that it was with a girl--he'd never hear the end of it if he did! "I hope I can keep it."

He looked at the chaos breaking out around them and sighed. "I don't know if it's worth it. There are bound to be more nurses, and I'd rather not get sedated again. Oh, look." He pointed over to where Kurikara and his small...friend were joining the pandemonium. "See that short fellow over there? The one with one eye and the spiky black hair? That's the other dragon. Looks kind of odd, doesn't he?"

Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

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