damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet.

Quietly, he collected dinner and a big glass of orange juice, and chose a seat near the food-serving counters. Talking for so long had made him thirsty... and, well, fruit juice was a luxury he had missed.

[Stalk away, my dearest Admiral. <3 ]

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Bridget smiled. "I'll try," he agreed. "But it's a lot harder to find someone than I thought it would be."

Bridget thought about what Armand had said and frowned thoughtfully. "Well, working together means that you'll get to know each other.... I'm sure you'll all be friends in no time." He beamed at the older man.

"I hope so. We're very different people." He didn't want to explain about his argument with TK this afternoon. He didn't know what to say about it anyway.

"I realize it. Maybe you should ask on the board."

Bridget thought about that too. "I think I'll do that," he said with a smile. "First thing in the morning too!"

Finishing what food he wanted to eat, Bridget reached over and pulled Roger into his lap, glancing up at the orderlies then back at Armand. "Are you going to be okay when the sun goes down Mr. Armand? Are your partners close by?"

"They're close enough, Bridget." Armand didn't want to worry the child. "They look after me very well."

"Good." Bridget was worried that Armand wouldn't be able to find his fri... partners (there really shouldn't be a difference he felt) once everything went bad. He turned in his seat and glanced at the doors, then scanned the room at large.

"I wish we could have gone back to our rooms for dinner..." He hugged Roger a bit tighter and smiled up at Armand. "It's always so nice and quiet then."

"I don't wish that. I like my roommate well enough, but I am much happier to see you."

The men at his sides made Armand feel so small. Yes, he was a bit taller and heftier than his young friend here, but Bridget was still very young, despite his unusual background. Although Armand felt very young inside, he was a grown man.

"I probably sound like an old hen, but promise me you'll be careful."

Bridget smiled brightly and warmly at that comment. "Really? I'm happy to see you too! I was worried about you, you know." He kicked his feet a bit under his chair. "I promise I'll be careful, as long as you are too, okay?"

Bridget glanced back up at the orderlies and bit his lower lip. "I'm glad I get to see you, but ... I was thinking more about how when the sun goes down, we won't make it back to our rooms," he looked back at Armand, "and the nice big scary men here probably won't be so nice."

"I promise," Armand said.

Bridget had a point about the orderlies. He hadn't even thought about that. Was that going to be their punishment? Armand shuddered, though he tried to hide the motion from Bridget. "It is possible," he said slowly, "that we'll be taken back to our rooms before sunset." The late afternoon light was already waning.

Bridget caught the shudder, but knew enough not to point it out. "Yeah! IT's possible," he agreed, smiling for a moment, before frowning. "But I don't know... I can help you get to your friends though, if you need help, that is."

He smiled warmly. Armand was the only grown-up that had ever taken him seriously (without having to be beaten-up first at least) and he wanted to help him out.

"If you do that, I'll find a way for you to go with us tonight," he promised. He'd explain, beg if he had to, to Citan and TK. "Let's... just enjoy the moment we have for now."

"That's okay," Bridget said quickly, waving a hand. "I'll be fine!"

He beamed at Armand and nodded. "You said that you liked English tea and food, right? Did you live in England? Roger and I are from England!"

"I did. For more than two years, mostly at an estate near Richmond." Armand leans forward across the table. "Where in England are you from?"

"I live in a village near Cheshire. It's pretty small, but father said that he liked the small town charm." Bridget laughed brightly. "He travels a lot though, so I don't know how much 'small-town charm' he really sees."

"I like cities myself, though the countryside in England is so beautiful, like... a fairy tale." In an almost nervous gesture, he looked aside, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. "I wanted an orchard though. A garden. The idea of one seemed so decadent to a boy who'd grown up on the streets of Paris."

Bridget brightened again. "Really? There's a garden near my village called Fairy Hamlet! It's pretty neat and almost nobody goes there." He looked proud.

"It's where I caught one of my first bounties."

"Fairy Hamlet?" Armand asked. The idea lit up something within him. He impatiently brushed tucked his hair back behind his ears since it kept falling foward across his face. "What was it like?"

"Yup!" Bridget tilted his head and chewed on his lip for a moment, thinking. "Well, there were all the huge trees, some of them had even been made into houses, though people didn't live there. There were flowers and plants taller than me and bushes that looked like they could eat you whole. It was part of the larger Forest of Sorrow, so there were all kinds of things and creatures living there. Sometimes you had to be careful." He smiled again.

"But my brother and I played in there when we we're young, and nothing bad happened to us. It was really pretty. Sometimes, you could climb up to the top of the trees and watch the sun set over the whole forest."

"That... doesn't sound real, but so beautiful." He swallowed. "How could the flowers be so tall?"

Bridget smiled. "It's real. It's because of the War. Aa lot of the weapons that were used during the Gear Wars had the side effects of either destroying the lands," he held out one hand. "Or they made everything grow and grow." He waved that hand to the other side. "Some of the Gears liked nature too, so they made sure that there were places that were protected and beautiful still."

"I wonder if there's a chance I'll ever see it." Armand swept his plate to one side to lay his hands on the table with his fingers spread. "I'd like that, you see."

He didn't realize how widely he was smiling. "I wanted a cottage with roses growing over the door. A kitchen garden so we could grown something for ourselves. It was such a simple dream. But comforting, don't you agree?"

Bridget smiled right back. "I would love to show you the forest! If there's ever a chance, that's the first thing I'll do!"

He nodded at Arman's description, his own smile wide and happy. "I think it sounds absolutly wonderful, Mr. Armand." And it did. Something small and simple sounded like heaven if all one knew was large and sprawling. Bridget thought that was why his father had picked such a small village.

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

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