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

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

Argilla frowned slightly as she thought it over. She hadn't much cared how she got here, just that she was here and not dead and there was sunlight and grass and trees. "Magic might do it," she replied thoughtfully. "I don't know how, but hey, I somehow ended up living outside of the Junkyard." Even if it hadn't been what they'd been promised. "If our tribe's strategist was here, he'd probably have worked everything out by now." Gale had an answer for everything. Or he could at least make it seem as though he did.

"Beautiful scenery sounds like my idea of nirvana, actually," she replied with a wistful smile. "In my world, there's nothing like that. Even the sun is black and corrupted." The description of the puppies sounded a lot like Lupa when he'd finally succumbed to the madness, but he'd been truly honourable before then.

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

From Argilla's words Archer deduced that the world she had come from was pretty bleak. Maybe it was the fact that her world was called the Junkyard. Going by its name alone there probably wasn't a lot to look at there.

"Having a strategist would be nice," Archer understood the value of a gifted strategist. Skilled commanders could make a hundred men fight like a thousand with the right strategies and tactics. "On the other hand maybe it's best he's not here. This place may look pretty but it's definitely not nirvana."

At the mention of a black sun Archer couldn't help but agree. Something like that seemed like an ominous sign. Like the end of the world.

"If only things were that simple. A beautiful surface is only part of the picture. In my opinion if it looks too good to be true it usually is. That goes the same for people as well."

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"Gale's more of a pragmatist than the rest of us. He'd take it in stride, I'm sure." And he had more iron control over himself than the rest of them. It was difficult to think that there was anything they couldn't do with him and Serph on their side. "And apart from this being a prison, it's still better than where I came from. People can go out into the sunlight without contracting Cuvier syndrome and turning into stone for one thing." It was a definite upside in her mind, even if she'd been immune to the syndrome anyway.

"I suppose that's true," she said consideringly. Hadn't the offer of Nirvana been too good to be true? Even if they'd had to take out all of the other tribes to do it, and see the Junkyard destroyed. "There's just a lot of things I want to see."

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

"Cuvier syndrome? I'm not familiar with that term," Archer confessed. "I suppose that's where we differ. To me a prison is still a prison regardless of the scenery. I guess it's because my home world was different from yours. To be honest, from your description of the Junkyard it sounds like here is much better than where you came from."

Their conversation was beginning to spoil his meal, but thankfully he was nearly done. He'd eaten enough to regain some mana for tonight.

"I suppose there are a lot of things to enjoy once you stop and take a look, but I can't settle down because I keep remembering it's a prison filled with monsters in the Nightshift that I have yet to see. I could live without seeing those things," his usual sarcasm returning.

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"It's cuased by the corrupt data from the Sun. It turns humans into stone when they go outside," she explained. "And the Junkyard and the real world were very different to here. Worse than here. I got to see grass. I'm happy enough with that."

She knew that everyone else was finding this place to be hell, but for her, it wasn't so bad. "The monsters? They're not as bad as where I came from either. Most of the ones here can't send spells at you at least."

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

"Sounds delightful," insert trademark sarcasm. "I can see why you like it here."

Archer looked up from his meal and glanced at the other people in the cafeteria.

"I haven't a chance to sample the variety of monsters here yet. However, we've all lost some of our power so even the ones that don't spew out spells are probably a pain in the ass."

He turned to Argilla. "In fact I had wanted to meet the person who posted the bestiary on the bulletin board. Should be helpful while I pass the time during my stay here. Have you had a chance to look at it?"

Archer's eyes strayed to a woman who just entered the cafeteria.

"And there she is. Sorry, I gotta go."

Taking only his juice with him, he made his way towards his prior engagement.