damned_institute | Day 30: Patient Library (Fourth Shift)

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Day 30: Patient Library (Fourth Shift)

While he waited for his bulletin board correspondant, Farfarello perused the library's offerings once more. There was no sign of any of the books he'd requested in the suggestion box but he wasn't very suprised that this was the case--even if, by some chance, the Head Doctor actually intended to grant any of the reasonable requests it still would probably take more than a day for anything to happen. The wheels turned slowly, in institutions, and there was no reason for a fake institution to be any speedier than a real one.

For lack of anything better, Farfarello pulled down the Histories volume of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. A little Richard III would keep him diverted for a short while, anyway.

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Angel blinked and turned around. He quickly withdrew his hand.

"Oh, uh—yeah." He cleared his throat, awkward, and made for the bookshelves, hoping the other patient wouldn't actually question his odd behaviour.

There was no area for non-fiction, which was strange enough on its own, but what was even stranger was the entire selection on the occult.

The Lesser Key of Solomon. He pulled it off the shelf, curious. It wasn't one of the properly translated editions—not that he expected to find something like that—but still. What was a book on demonology doing in a mental institute? Weren't they supposed to encourage readings that advocated so-called normal behaviour?

Zelgadis followed the man in and walked towards a nearby bookshelf, still glancing at the person who had exhibited such odd behavior.

He glanced at the title the man was reading over the copy of a random book he had chosen off the shelf. It read The Lesser Key of Solomon, which meant nothing to Zelgadis. He hoped the odd man hadn't noticed him looking.

[hope you don't mind if I butt in? :) ]

Having had a good shower and nearly gotten into a fight, Mason was in more or less a good mood. That John bloke was a bit of a tosser, but he obviously had a strong sexual attraction to Mason, so the reaper was willing to excuse a bit of bad manners.

Slinking into the library, Mason was half-expecting it to be all creepy and covered in radio equipment like the night before, but instead it was just people reading. He did, however, notice Zel.

Completely ignoring the fact that his friend was having a conversation with somebody, Mason ran over and gave Zel a light shove. "Bet you missed me, eh?" he asked, grinning.

Okay. This was starting to be uncomfortable. Angel had never taken well to being watched like this. Was something wrong? He was fairly certain he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Maybe he was blocking something?

Fortunately, someone else showed up and rescued him from having to say anything.

Angel slipped off a few feet away, not wanting to bother either of the two...nor to be bothered by them.

Zelgadis looked over at the man moving away from him, then turned to Mason.

"Hello."

He tried to sound pleased to see him, but he couldn't say he was. Whatever the odd man had been doing before... It was probably nothing. Most of the patients were crazy people, after all.

"Hi!" Mason said cheerfully, not even thinking that Zel wouldn't be happy to see him.

The bloke Zel had been talking to was edging away from them, but Mason was in a friendly mood. He bounced closer to the man and looked at the cover of the book he was holding.

"The Lesser Key of Sol-o-man," Mason sounded out slowly. "Fucking weird-sounding book, mate. What's it about?"

Angel glanced up, surprised. "Oh, this, it's—" He flipped it shut and tucked it back onto the shelf. "Just a grimoire."

He was better at blending in when he wasn't speaking to anybody.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "You look..." He trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence without sounding crass. You look like something big attacked you.

Still, if something that could do that was roaming the halls here, he wanted to know what it was.

Zelgadis looked sharply at the book-- a grimoire? Could it have magical elements? He would have to look at it later, when it would raise less suspicion.

"He got set on fire." Zelgadis said with a smirk.

Mason ruefully scratched at his cheek, which was scabbing nicely and would hopefully be healed by tomorrow or the next day - but who knew in this fucking place. Stupid fucking fire monsters...

"Yeah, and the black eye an' all," he gestured to his swollen eye and nose. "Well, I was in the riot this morning. But I fucking showed them - I was in the thick o' the fray, I took down fifteen of the biggest orderlies with my bare hands!" He grinned at the larger man, expecting some show of approval.

He should've expected fire. There was always fire, somehow. Although Angel was more preoccupied with the fact that he'd gotten himself engaged in a conversation with a couple of people he had no idea how to respond to. After the relative normalcy of Hitsugaya and Valyn, these two left him vaguely bemused.

Angel raised his eyebrows a little at the boast and did his best not to stare blankly. After a second, he offered the quick half-smile reserved for when he was trying to humour somebody.

"That's—great," he said, attempting for some semblance of sincerity, but ending up sounding like a sort of cross between mild amusement and utter befuddlement. "Good for you."

He paused. "I didn't catch either of your names, by the way."

Zelgadis looked at the other man with a piercing stare-- he wasn't going to praise Mason's ridiculous story, was he? It would only cheer him on.

Rubbing at his nose, then remembering that Mason had lead to it being bandaged, Zelgadis replied to the man's second question,

"Zelgadis. However, typically, introductions are mutual."

Mason was a little thrown off by everyone's complete lack of acknowledgment of his obviously fabled deeds.

"Uh... I'm Mason," he said, scratching his cheek again and then holding the hand out to the stranger.

"Oh, oh wait. Lemme guess your name. I'm good at guessing names." The reaper retracted the offered hand and took a step back, looking the man up and down. "Uh... Manfred," he guessed. "Yeah, you definitely look like a Manfred." He glanced cheerfully at Zel, who was clearly his partner in crime in all things now, then looked back at the man.

Angel was about to shake the man's hand, but it was pulled away before he managed to get there. He rubbed the side of his temple instead, trying to keep up with the wild directions this conversation kept veering off into.

"What? No." He glanced from Zelgadis to Mason. He looked like a Manfred? "My name's Angel."

He didn't really actually look like a Manfred. Did he?

Zelgadis had decided Mason was almost as dumb as Gourry. Almost.

The man named "Angel" seemed to be rubbing his head oddly. He was a very strange person.

Zelgadis decided he had nothing to say in reply to Mason's stupidity.

"Angel?" Mason snickered. "That's kinda a girly name, mate."

The reaper's eyes widened. "Unless you are an angel. I never seen one of them, but... do you really exist?" he asked in an awed whisper.

"I'm not an angel," Angel said, the barest hint of exasperation creeping into his voice. Mason was starting to remind him of what might've occurred had Spike ever been merged with Xander to become one person. "It's just a name."

He was fully aware of its ironic implications, but no one had ever really called him out on it yet.

Zelgadis crossed his arms and leaned against one of the bookshelves, waiting to see what idiotic comment Mason would make next.

"Oh. Ok." Mason shrugged. He plucked the book out of Angel's hands and flipped through the pages - not that he could read them very well.

"This grim-ware thing, it a magic book?" the reaper asked. "You a magician or something, mate?" He snickered again, imagining the large man in those star-studded gowns. "You wear a dress with stars on, in the real world? Like Mickey Mouse does in Fantasia?"

Angel debated just walking away so he could actually do what he'd come here to do, but he wasn't sure if it would be worth the effort. The man would probably insist on following him. At least the other patient seemed content to not add to the conversation.

There were a few seconds of silence as he eyed Mason. "I've never seen Fantasia," he replied finally, deadpan.

Zelgadis looked between the two men, frowning,

"What is a Fantasia? And why do you think magicians where stars and pointy hats?"

This dimension was indeed very strange.

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Day 30: Patient Library (Fourth Shift)

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