damned_institute | Day 34: Breakfast

[starting off in M13]

The last part of the night was little more than a blur in Homura's mind. The men had rushed in, but not joined them, instead staying off to themselves. Before any of them had a chance to react, however, a voice sounded through the air, mocking some other person Homura had never heard of, and the patients themselves.

To Homura, whoever that man was, he sounded a great deal like a god.

But before he could ask questions, the demi-god found himself no longer in the chapel, but some strange room on a bed. Is that what Kenren had meant from his earlier warning? Homura sat up, glad at least that the world didn't spin when he did so. Then the same man from before began to speak again, with a completely different tone. It was confusing to hear him talk that way, calling them patients instead of prisoners as he had before. Homura listened quietly as the announcement was made, then got out of bed.

Maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere yet. It wasn't like Homura knew where to go anyway, and that meant he had time. If this was his room, and if he had been here as long as Kenren had said, there was a chance he could find something with answers. The Taisho had even told him that Homura had seen Rinrei. Certainly he would've written something down, made a map, something that could let him find her again! He started with the desk at the end of his bed, first finding a small stack of notebooks. Picking up the first, he flipped through, turning the pages with quickening desperation as he found each one to be blank.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That pained smile on Bridget's face made Armand worry more, but there was nothing else he could do. "I will think about it," he promised. "Check the bulletin board before the end of the day." Still having to breathe shallow against his aching muscles, he bent and picked up his plate.

"Yes, miss, he's going, because we all have to go or get punished." He didn't turn away from either of them, but stepped back enough to look around the cafeteria for somewhere he could try to eat his stone cold breakfast--look around and still watch to see if they left quietly. The girl seriously frightened him now.

The orderlies didn't do anything yet, but they hovered close to the patient. This was unfortunate. The nurse had truly been hoping not to take any more action than was necessary.

She stepped in between the three, facing the the young female patient. "We would prefer everyone take responsibility for themselves and walk away until they feel they can resolve their conflicts peacefully," she said firmly. "I trust you are all capable of doing this?"

The violence hadn't started up again--but she was ready with a syringe just in case something broke out.

Bridget turned to glance at Diva. "We can talk later, when everyone is calm and nobody has to get angry. Just to talk." He tried another smile. "Okay? Nobody wants to get into trouble, right?" He looked over at the staff then back at her. He had to stop this before it got even more out of hand.

"We can talk as soon as possible, promise." He was looking at Diva, but his words were for both her and Armand. He hoped the older man understood that.

Talk, talk, talk! Walk away, don‘t get angry, be as Saya-neesama would be.

It wasn’t what Diva wanted or needed. Why did no one understand that.

This ‘Chevalier’ was even more of a wretch than the other one had been, what with only paying her half a mind when at least the other had outright refused. Treating her on level with a human was unacceptable. Amshel would have known that. Solomon would have paid her attention as she desired. James would have had eyes only for her. Carl would have killed anyone for dare speaking down to her. And Nathan would have treated her like the dear princess he wished to see in her.

All of these humans around her… she’d kill every last one of them one day! She’d done it before! She would bathe in their blood all over again, content with drinking away their sin and making them pay for the harm they’d done.

“No!” bellowed the Chiropteran, and it was an outmost refusal to everything and anything that was standing in her way. Perhaps what enraged her most of all was the use of the word 'promise.' Lies, all of it. Her eyes lit up with a blue battle glow as she stared into the face of the female nurse… but when she lunged, it was to the side, her elbow cocked for an orderly’s solar plexus. She knew it as the most unfun place, the place for quick deaths.

Don't move.

Armand's head whipped around to watch Bridget. "Bridget, don't get involved. Just walk away," he ordered the child, again trying to keep his voice as stern as possible. Somehow he knew he wouldn't be obeyed. He didn't like knowing that the girl was setting herself up for punishment, but there wasn't anything he could do about that either. It was her own choice.

His one hand holding his plate trembled with his own suppressed anger as his attention returned to the girl attacking the orderly. Why did this have to happen? But if he could keep himself and Bridget out of trouble, then he'd done his job. He just didn't think he'd be able to.

One of the orderlies fell to the side, letting go of the girl as she elbowed him. Fortunately, the second still held fast, with another on the way. The other two patients seemed willing to behave, but this one was another story.

The nurse moved quickly as the other orderly attempted to restrain young Miss Danielle. It would only require a swift prick of the needle to sedate the girl. Poor thing. She was clearly troubled, but the nurse had no other choice if she was going to insist on causing physical harm.

The startled cry of No caught in Bridget's throat as he stepped forward to prevent the young woman from being sedated, but he wasn't fast enough. Hands clenching into fists, breath hitching slightly, he bowed his head.

He shouldn't be feeling so protective over someone he didn't know like this. He shouldn't be courting sedation and injury by jumping into the fray, so why was he? What had happened?

Diva wouldn’t stop fighting even when the nurse closed in with her tranquilizer. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn it was another Joel closing in on her with one of his sickly sweet smiles. She moved more like an animal than a person, swinging her lower body up and kicking at the nurse with her eyes ablaze.

She wouldn’t stop fighting because she couldn’t. She couldn’t make it easy.

They’d robbed her of everything, after all, from her children to her own Chevaliers. They’d let her come to harm. She’d kill them all for it.

As long as Bridget stayed out of it, Armand could too. He stood, almost frozen, watching with horrified disbelief as the girl fought viciously to avoid being sedated. He had to look away, sickened and angry at himself that he had failed to calm her and prevent this mess.

When the girl attacked again, the orderlies seemed to move almost unnaturally quick in order to restrain her from completely reaching the nurse, her foot just grazing the shin as the nurse stepped swiftly out of the way

They only needed to keep the patient steady for the split second it took for the nurse to administer the sedative. The tranquilizer worked fast; the girl would be subdued in seconds.

That was too much. "Please, stop!" Though who he was asking to stop wasn't clear. He could have been asking the staff to stop trying to sedate Diva, or he could have been asking Diva to stop struggling. Even he wasn't sure.

Bridget couldn't help but take a few steps towards her though in an attempt to do something.

Day 34: Breakfast

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject