damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

Phibrizzo smiled politely, taking a seat. "My name is Lei. Lei Magnus."

His shoulder throbbed and he felt in no mood to make conversation. However, he reminded himself that if he was too conspicuous, the princess would single him out again. Curses. Where was Xelloss? Perhaps he could direct her towards him...

The quiet time he had gotten in the library had been a good way to cool off after the incident in the showers, so Peter wasn't too opposed to the idea of eating in the cafeteria. He had gotten the chance to speak with Logan earlier in the day, after all, and he was sure they would be taken back to their rooms after eating, anyway.

He was a little less thrilled with the food, if only because he was pretty sure they had gotten mashed potatoes pretty recently. So he chose to skip out on those and go for something a little more healthy, adding coleslaw and corn to the main course of pork.

Finding somewhere to sit was always the tricky part, but there was no question as to where he was going once he spotted the boy he and Logan had found last night, speaking to another young girl and looking a lot better than he had. Still, he wanted to check on him and maybe even get some more details on what had happened.

Peter moved over to the pair, and while he felt kind of bad for intruding on the kids, he thought it was necessary. He shot a quick smile at the boy. "Hey. You're looking better."

"It's very nice to meet you, Lei," MOMO replied, mostly from habit. Plus it was the polite thing to say after meeting someone and, if first impressions were worth anything, she didn't think she'd regret saying something such as that.

The Prototype didn't fail to notice that the boy hadn't offered more than his name. It would be a little disappointing to sit through the meal quietly, although she wouldn't press for conversation if he didn't want to talk. Some people were simply quiet by nature, after all.

Someone else soon joined them, and this was another person she hadn't met before now. Judging from the way he greeted the boy, it seemed the man knew Lei, or at least had met him before. That was good enough for MOMO and she gave the man a smile, though she opted not to interrupt.

Good. This was what he needed-- a dining partner to make him look occupied and act as a front but not actually talk to him beyond what was necessary and polite. Things were going to work out for this meal.

A new figure approached and the Mazoku lord didn't paid it much mind. He assumed he was a friend of his companion and didn't say anything. However, the man turned to him (smiling at him, even) and said, "Hey. You're looking better."

...what?

Hellmaster glanced at MOMO then back at Peter. Who was this man? How did he know him? He had to be mistaken. Hellmaster would swear he had never seen him before. This was worrisome, especially if the man was telling the truth. "Eh?"

When the boy looked up at him with a completely blank look, Peter stared back with raised eyebrows. At first he thought that the kid had been so out of it last night that he didn't remember him, but then it occurred to him and he felt his stomach drop.

He had been wearing his costume last night, and definitely wasn't now. How could he have screwed up like this?

Trying to get his composure, Peter cleared his throat and set his tray of food down on the table before carefully taking a seat as he tried to think of a proper excuse.

"Last night, I saw you in that hallway. Some guys came and got you, right? You looked pretty out of it, so I was wanted to make sure you were all right." He could only hope his voice wouldn't be too recognizable. His mask muffled it a little, so hopefully it would be okay.

Okay... Maybe the man wasn't someone Lei knew. That made things a little confusing, although it almost seemed fitting considering how the day had been so far.

Thankfully the man was able to provide an explanation, although there was something about his words that caused her to worry.

"Forgive me for... for interrupting the two of you," MOMO broke in, looking from the stranger to Lei, "but were you hurt last night? Are you hurt now?" Nevermind the fact that she had only just met him, she wasn't one who enjoyed seeing anyone hurt.

Phibrizzo hadn't wanted to dwell on it, since he still didn't feel all that great. The feeling that he was going to be violently ill had passed, but his shoulder and head continued to remind him of the night before. His face darkened slightly.

"Ah, right," He responded to Peter, not really having much else to say to him. It wasn't as if the man had been one of his rescuers last night, though his brain had been so muddled it was hard to remember much.

"It doesn't matter," he glanced downwardly at MOMO, answering her question. "I'm ok now."

Somehow he had managed to get out of the hole he had dug himself into, and Peter tried not to think about how good he had gotten at lying since he had started living a double life. It seemed wrong to be pulling the wool over the eyes of a kid, but he realized it wasn't really hurting anyone if he twisted the truth a little.

"Are you sure?" he asked, wondering if he was coming off as too concerned for someone who had been a mere observer. Still, it was a young boy who had been hurt somehow, and he figured anyone would be worried over that. "It looked like you were in pretty bad shape. What... happened to you?"

It had been experimentation of some sort, but getting the chance to look the kid over in good light still didn't reveal any obvious physical problems. Still, Peter knew there were ways to hurt a person without leaving a mark.

Even though Lei assured that he was okay, MOMO wasn't entirely convinced. Some of the monsters that had been described on the bulletin board sounded like they could cause some pretty bad injuries, and she knew too well what could happen if last night had been a Special Counseling night.

He didn't really look to be injured, but she knew enough to know that didn't necessarily mean anything. Plus, the mans concern made it seem like the boy had been hurt pretty badly...

"You're sure you're all right..?"

All this caring, all this concern...it was starting to piss Hellmaster off. Sure, on one hand, he appreciated the negative energy. The fear and dread that a small child might be suffering did make his heart glow a bit, but all the innane questions and the constant, "Are you alright?"s were going to have to stop soon or he was going to get angry. The whole thing was annoying.

"Nothing happened," He muttered, glancing towards Peter. "I don't want to talk about it," He looked at MOMO. "And I said I was fine. Thank you, Miss, but I'm doing alright."

An outright lie, but if the Mazoku lord was to continue his 'innocent little kid' act, he'd need to get over the pain. Of course, the alternative was that he'd snap and reveal his true nature, but he was gonna try his best to keep from being driven to that, despite his current state.

It wasn't like Peter believed the kid even for a second, but it was pretty obvious that he wasn't ready to talk it over yet. He only hoped that the boy could find someone he trusted to discuss it with, since keeping things bottled up could never lead to anything good. He could speak from experience when it came to that.

"All right," he said, backing off of the subject and taking the chance to eat some of his food. He glanced over the two patients, inwardly sighing as he tried to guess at how young they were. Barely into their double-digits, probably, and that just wasn't right.

Not knowing where to go from there, he thought they might want to get introductions out of the way. "I'm Peter, by the way. How've you guys been holding up in this place? Do you have people keeping an eye on you?" He tried to address them as equals, but it was a little difficult considering the large age difference. It wasn't like he had to deal with middle-schoolers on a normal basis, beyond getting quick thank you's when he saved them as his alter ego.

MOMO still wasn't entirely sure whether to believe Lei when he said he was fine but, in the end, what choice did she have? She knew what it was like to have things you didn't really want to discuss (especially to people you only just met), but it was still a little worrisome.

"Okay, well, the important thing is that you're all right." And that was all she said before following the other mans lead and letting the subject go.

"I'm MOMO and I've been fine, thank you for asking," the realian replied, moving onto Peter's questions. "I haven't really had anyone to 'keep an eye on me', as you would say, but I've been managing quite well." Smiling once more, she nodded as though that would confirm the statement. A week in this place and she had only suffered a few bumps, bruises, bites, and a stab from a scalpel; that was much less than some others, she knew.

This seemed like the perfect time to cause more chaos and perhaps turn another couple of idiots against Zelgadis and the princess, but Phibrizzo wasn't in the mood. "Nnn," was all he responded to Peter, though he was capable of saying much more. The day had worn on long enough and he was seriously considering spending the evening in bed.

But it was so frustrating to be so weak. He wasn't used to this at all. And there was a strange...feeling in the back of his mind. He didn't know how else to put it. It was like there was something there that hadn't been there but he didn't know what it was. And it didn't seem to be affecting anything. Or was it?

He put a hand to his head and groaned. "I wish we could have eaten in our rooms tonight," he said. While he would still have had the room mate to contend with, it would have been easier to not play the child. Plus, there was no threat of princesses or Chimeras there.

Even if the boy refused to provide a name, let alone a proper answer to any of his questions, Peter at least had MOMO to focus on. He was starting to wonder if it hadn't been his place to join the conversation in the first place, but dinner was probably only going to go on for a little longer.

With that in mind, he took a few more bites of his food before turning to MOMO. "Well, that's good to hear. Maybe it's... different where you're from, but in my world most kids your age would definitely need some sort of adult to watch over them if they were stuck in a place like this, so that's why I ask." He didn't know how any kid could actually handle Landel's on their own, but he imagined that MOMO (and maybe the boy, as well, though he really didn't seem like the social type) had been making friends.

"I guess my point is that if you guys ever need any help, don't feel free to ask me." He could only hope that came off as empathetic rather than creepy. He was trying to do the right thing here, but he wasn't sure if he was going about it properly.

MOMO canted her head slightly, her attention shifting back to Lei. Perhaps he really was someone who preferred it when things were quiet... She smiled a little sheepishly, but it wasn't as though she could simply ignore Peter. That would be rude.

"It's the same where I'm from too," she said, speaking quieter than she had been as she turned back to Peter. "But here, it can be bothersome for anyone to keep constant watch on someone. I wouldn't want to trouble anyone like that and besides, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Even if it was scary being alone sometimes...

"Thank you, though! If either of you ever need help too, I'd be happy to help. I may not... er..." She paused, then lowered her voice a bit more before continuing, "I may not be as good a fighter as some others I know, but I can help with healing."

Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

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