damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

Entry tags:

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 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject