Day 35: Bus 2

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally woke as the intercom crackled to life and was surprised to find himself back in his room. The last thing he'd remembered was feeling relieved at finally beating off those dragonfly-lizard things. There'd been that weird intercom message, then... he wasn't quite sure what had happened after that, but he was certain it hadn't involved falling asleep. He'd be half-wondering if he'd dreamed the whole thing if it hadn't been for the nagging ache on his back and ankle from where he'd been bitten. A quick check revealed they'd been bandaged, apparently while he'd slept. He wondered if he had Kal to thank for that. Maybe he'd get the chance to ask later.

He jumped as the door swung open to admit the familiar face of the nurse who'd woken him yesterday. "Up already, are we?" she said cheerfully as she busied herself pulling out clothes. A blue shirt and a pair of jeans were passed to him. Wally blinked, he hadn't been here long, but he'd gotten the impression that the grey-and-smiley-face combo was standard.

"Does this mean I'm being released?" he asked, hope creeping into his voice.

The nurse turned back to him, pity etched on her features. "I'm afraid not, dear." She smiled brightly as she continued, "but today's when all the patients get a special field trip into town! Won't that be a treat!"

Wally stared at the clothes, his mind working away. He'd been trying to get into town and to a phone last night before he'd been attacked. But if they were going in today, this might be the perfect chance for him to contact the Justice League. He smiled warmly and thanked the nurse as she left to allow him to change, then happily allowed himself to be led to one of the buses, picking a seat about halfway down and sliding in to look out the window. It seemed like today was going to be brighter than yesterday, at least in the area of possible phone calls and rescues. About the only dark patch he could see was that the contents of his paper-bag breakfast were going to be nowhere near enough to fill the yawning pit that had taken the place of his stomach, and even that was tolerable when he was positive he wasn't going to be here much longer.

"And you say that time goes rushing by, but it seems so slow to me, and you see a blur around you fly, but it takes too long, it seems so slow to me..." he sung absently.

[Oh Captain, my Captain~]

Comments

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

Argilla returned the smile and nodded. "You too," she said. She watched as he looked mournfully at his food and then held out her bagged breakfast. "Do you want this?" she asked. It did nothing for her at all, and she could definitely understand hunger like that. And besides, Yue hadn't told anyone about what she was. She didn't mind changing.

She paused, thinking over the question for a moment because it was difficult to keep track of days here. "There's been two nightshifts since then," she explained. "You don't remember what happens when you're Yue?"

[winged_moon]

Yukito brightened at the offer and nodded. "If you don't want it..." Although he tried to act politely reluctant to take her breakfast as well, he couldn't hide how eager he was to get more to eat. He hadn't been this hungry in some time, not since -- Yukito quickly shied away from that train of thought and just focused on the second paper bag.

But still, her answer made him pause a moment. "Two nights?" On the one hand, he was relieved that it had only been a couple of days, though he was still puzzled at how he could have healed so quickly. On the other, though...well, he didn't think Yue had ever taken over for so long before. After a second his hunger got the better of him and he went back to digging into the bag, but he was still not entirely focused on it. "Um. No, I don't. It's like...going to sleep, I suppose."

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"I don't want it," Argilla said, pushing the bag towards him insistently. It would be wasted on her when it didn't contain enough data to sustain her. If it would help him then that was just fine.

She nodded seriously. "Yes, two nights." They'd killed that monster and then last night had been a waste, but it was definitely two nights. She cocked her head to one side as he spoke, curious about how he perceived changing form. "Oh. I guess it must be disorienting then." At least changing into Prithvi she was usually fairly aware of what was going on and in charge of her actions.

[winged_moon]

"A little, I guess." Yukito began to devour the food without needing any further prompting, somehow managing to coordinate bites and talking so that he didn't garble his words or talk with his mouth full. It was a much-needed skill for someone who ate as much as he did, after all. "It's been kind of different here, though."

He fell silent for a moment as he considered, chewing thoughtfully on a mouthful of granola bar. "Back home, well, I was me most of the time. Yue only needed to be around when there was danger, or there was something that required his presence. Usually that only lasted for...oh, usually a few hours, at the most." Yukito shrugged a little, still smiling. "It was a relief to find out he existed, so I knew why I kept blacking out and waking up in strange places."

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

Oh, she knew all about things being different. She couldn't Tune properly after all, just her arm and she could manage a basic Dia spell when before she'd mastered mantras that could have destroyed the building in one blow. But she stayed silent as Yukito thought things over.

That was curious though. He wasn't normally Yue, but Yue was dominant most of the time here. That would be like being tuned to Prithvi all the time. "That sounds a bit strange," she said with a small frown. "That he'd be here during the daytime at least. Or maybe he just sees the whole place as dangerous all the time."

[winged_moon]

Yukito's eyes went distant for a moment, as though he were trying to listen to something faint, his chewing slowing a little as his concentration shifted. He finally shook his head once, focusing once more on the muffin in his hands, and took another bite. No explanations were forthcoming from his other self, it seemed; Yue only spoke when he wanted to, and this didn't appear to be one of those times.

"Maybe. Though it's not really all that dangerous during the daytime." Yukito's smile returned, and he shrugged a little. "Night seems to be very different, but...it's still strange. Both times he's left I was still in the middle of a dangerous situation, and that's never happened before."

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"It's still a generally dangerous situation," Argilla pointed out, "but no, it isn't dangerous during the daytime." Admittedly, she didn't find it all that dangerous during the nighttime considering what she was used to. Monsters were just an everyday occurrence where she was from after all.

The news that Yue vanished during dangerous situations was more worrying though. "I hope you weren't alone the last time," she said, frowning slightly.

[winged_moon]

"I don't think so - but I didn't have much time to see what was going on before it was morning again." And Yukito had been rather stunned from his impact with the floor, so hadn't really had a chance to look around himself. Had Yue changed back in mid-air or something?

But still, that reminded him of the last time something like that had happened, and he gave a self-conscious little laugh. "I wasn't hurt, though, don't worry. Not like the last time, when you helped me." Yukito tilted his head to one side slightly, looking a little bit more serious for a moment. "Thank you again for that, by the way. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"That's annoying, yes," Argilla said sourly. They hadn't managed to get anything to eat last night after all but had still expended energy getting nowhere. At least they hadn't fought for nothing. She couldn't help but eye a passing nurse hungrily. Maybe if they changed again tonight she could eat one of them.

She smiled at him when he said he wasn't hurt though. "I'm glad. It wasn't as powerful as it should have been," she explained. "But I'm glad I could help."

[winged_moon]

Yukito laughed and shook his head. "Argilla-san, being able to do anything like that is amazing to me. And I'm already all better anyway." Maybe it was just a delayed effect of whatever healing magic she'd used two nights before?

He noticed the look she gave the passing nurse and blinked once, then offered the granola bar he hadn't eaten yet. "You sure you don't want any of this?"

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"It's not really anything that special where I'm from," she said with a shrug. "If you have the money, then you can buy the mantra for the spell." Assuming you were infected with the demon virus at least.

She shook her head when he offered her the food. "I'm sure. It doesn't do anything for me in terms of nutrition." It would just make her more hungry for real food.

[winged_moon]

Yukito glanced up in surprise as the bus slowed to a halt. "Already there? That didn't take long at all." His smile faltered just a little as he looked through the window at the town outside, though. While he knew that he wasn't at home, seeing this utterly unfamiliar town which looked absolutely nothing like Tomoeda just made the realization all that much sharper.

But still, he forced himself to remain positive - he was certain he'd find a way home, or Yue would. They both had very good reasons to do so. "So what is there to do here, Argilla-san?"

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

"I don't think it's too far away, just too far to walk comfortably for most people." But it hadn't seemed to take very long at all, admittedly. She was a little surprised. At least they were there now and she could take another look around for a while.

"They gave us a book of tickets last week. Things to get free meals." She smiled brightly at him. "Do you want to go and get some food? They had a thing for a... a burger place."

[winged_moon]

"I'm always happy to get food," Yukito replied, holding up the bag containing the remains of both their breakfasts as he gave a self-conscious laugh. "Though I've been even hungrier than usual, lately. I'm not sure why."

He waited for a moment until the aisle was clear, then rose and headed toward the exit with her. It might not be home, but he could still make the best of a bad situation, right? And at least he could be outside and not cooped up inside of the imitation hospital.

[wandering out to here]