Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

[captain-hunam.livejournal.com]

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 ]

Comments

[myopic-mousse.livejournal.com]

He'd be willing to help Mousse get back to Shampoo?! This was the best news Mousse had heard all day. Even Sousuke had his own priorities that came before catering to Mousse's interests! Mr. Masters hadn't even know him that long and he was willing to do this much for him? His eyes welled up with tears once more and he made another grab for Vlad's hand.

"You're so kind!" He was overjoyed to hear that Mr. Masters knew where he was coming from and understood how he felt. "I mean, that you would help me reunite with my darling Shampoo! I would do anything for that! If I can help you in any way, please let me know!"

The final comment, about Mousse as a warrior made the Amazon lower his head again. "I don't appear to be much of warrior lately. I am supposed to be a fighter of some skill and a master of hidden weapons, but so far all I've managed to do since coming here is screw up."

[vladville.livejournal.com]

"Not at all, not at all. After all, we all want to leave here, don't we? But I'm sure working together we'd make much better progress than working apart." Vlad continued to smile warmly at Mousse.

"And in my experience... strength is useful, but without direction, it is all too easy to be lost or to simply strike out blindly and waste energy." He had no idea how close he was to the truth on that point. "Strength and knowledge working together, on the other hand, can be quite unstoppable." Vlad shook Mousse's hand firmly. "A master of hidden weapons, you say? How impressive. Out of curiosity, my boy, is there anything on you at the moment?"

[myopic-mousse.livejournal.com]

Mousse nodded. "I never go without weapons if I can help it." That didn't mean he would show all the aces up his sleeve; how would they be considered hidden if he revealed them? "Of course, it seems a bit harder to hide things here. They keep catching me if I attempt to add to my arsenal and sometimes my weapons don't stay hidden like they're supposed to."

"But you think if we work together we can get out? Really?" Mousse went back to the notion that Vlad could bring him back to Shampoo. "Oh, tell me what I need to do and I will!"

[vladville.livejournal.com]

"Excellent. It's always best to be prepared, that's my philosophy." Vlad noticed that Mousse did not bring anything out. In this situation, it was a sign of intelligence if anything, considering how the cafeteria was positively swarming with orderlies on the lookout. His description of having things confiscated might have been proof that it was a lesson learned from experience, on the other hand.

"I think we can get out," Vlad confirmed. "It may take some time, of course, and we must secure more resources, but we will leave this place behind." Of course, he had absolutely no idea how at the moment, but that hardly mattered so long as Mousse followed along.

[myopic-mousse.livejournal.com]

That sounded nice and Mousse was willing to believe Vlad. After all, he had already decided he trusted him and he knew they had similiar lines of thought on love. If Vlad had a great plan of escape, then undoubtably it would match Mousse's own goals. It was considerate of Vlad to invite him to take part in it as well as acknowledge his skill as a warrior. Perhaps this meant that Mr. Masters would let him engage his enemies, should they encounter any. Unlike Sousuke, Mousse had a good feeling about Mr. Masters letting him keep his pride as a man and take the damage in his stead.

"Tell me what I can do to help!" His face lit up. He was going to see Shampoo again soon!

[vladville.livejournal.com]

Goodness, the young man seemed ready to run out and go throw himself into the face of danger on Vlad's word right at the spur of the moment. Vlad liked that, but the problem was of course he had nothing to point Mousse at. Even recruiting the young man like this was bargaining on his future use, not yet part of any extended plan. Vlad liked to take advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves, and Mousse was an opportunity that Vlad felt he already had a good grasp on.

Which made it more important to not let Mousse get distracted or discouraged from his current enthusiasm, but Vlad didn't have anything substantial to use him for at the moment. "I still need to learn some more things about this facility," Vlad explained sincerely, nodding at Mousse as though surely Mousse understood that these things took time. "Let's meet again tomorrow, and we can begin discussing our first moves."

[myopic-mousse.livejournal.com]

Mousse pursed his lips. He had been hoping to get out of this place as soon as possible. However, what Vlad said made sense, especially if he was new and unfamliar with things. The Amazon had had his heart set on seeing Shampoo soon, though.

"Ok," he said, less enthusiastic. "You think we'll be able to leave tomorrow?"

[vladville.livejournal.com]

Oh, for... "I don't know." Vlad sighed his best tragic sigh and looked around at all the guards. "We may. It depends on what I learn tonight. But I assure you, I'll do my best to find the way out of this place and back to our proper homes as quickly as possible."

He paused, then smiled. "In the meantime, think of this as a new challenge to overcome. After all, with all the fighting that happens every night, you're bound to become stronger. When you next meet this Ranma Saotome, how could he stand a chance compared to the things here?"

Well, the things Vlad had read about. He hadn't actually seen any of that.

[myopic-mousse.livejournal.com]

Mousse's face lit up at the thought. "That is true!" Ranma couldn't train like he did with these monsters. Then again, he might not need to with the techniques Cologne could teach him. Mousse would have to make an effort to keep training AND fighting at night. He'd gotten lazy in his routine. Thank heavens Mr. Masters was here to set him back on track!

"When I return home, I will defeat Ranma Saotome in combat and Shampoo will become my bride!" Never mind that he still wouldn't have technically defeated her, but by proxy counted. "She'll know how strong I am and no longer spurn me!"

[vladville.livejournal.com]

There. Much better. Vlad raised both his hands in a gesture of open agreement. "Of course! When she sees how superior you are, how could she make any other choice?"

How could she make any other choice? Much less choose an idiot like... Well, however close to home Mousse's problems might hit, Vlad wasn't so sympathetic that he didn't plan on using his understanding of those feelings to play Mousse like a violin. Thus far, it sounded lovely.

"So we have two goals. Your training here and my efforts to find a way to free us both, so you may use that training against Ranma Saotome." He had absolutely no idea who Ranma Saotome was, and could only hope he was a bit smarter than Mousse for Shampoo's sake. Then again, once they parted ways or Mousse lost his usefulness, it wouldn't be Vlad's concern anymore.

The smile he gave Mousse was downright fatherly.