damned_institute | Nightshift 35: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

Armand weakly echoed Citan's laughter.

"I can help," he said, not sounding very convinced. "I don't mind as long as it's not trying to eat me. You're a very strange man, Dr. Uzuki. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"If you're certain," Citan said, nodding. He was happy for the help, but he certainly didn't want Armand doing anything he'd rather not. And he knew that for those not accustomed to cutting things open and pulling them apart, dissection was remarkably unpleasant.

"Am I?" He smiled. "I believe I may have heard that one or two times before, come to think of it."

Armand shivered, not wanting to admit his reluctance, and paced. He kept rubbing his arms in a nervous gesture as if the motion would warm him up. "If you need help, who else is there? It looks like Morrison may not be making it out tonight."

A reluctant smile returned to his lips. "You are, but I trust you. I'm not surprised that people that knew you better noticed as well."

[OOC: I still haven't heard from Lauren about TK. If she still wants him to join us, we can find a way for him to "accidentally" run into them later, can't we? If we're going actually to find a monster and kill it, they may need to head out very soon.]

"A pity," Citan said, thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose you're right, in that regard." And it was better to have some aide, rather than none.

"I suppose I'm simply a strange man then." He chuckled, as though it were a very funny joke. "But there are much worse things to be!"

[OOC: Come to think of it, has Lauren come back from the Land of No Internet yet? I can't recall seeing an end-hiatus note from her since last week....]

Armand nodded. "I will do my best, if we should manage to defeat one of the creatures."

The smile grew more sure, though Armand didn't venture as far as to laugh, even nervously. "Yes, you're right about that. You usually are about most things."

[OOC: You know, that may be it. She was still around when I first told her we were set for her to join us, but she might have not come out because of going away right away. I didn't realize she'd be gone this long, but I haven't seen her on AIM at all.]

"Well, if we stand around long enough, I imagine one will find us," Citan said, with a hint of humor in his voice. Though it was roughly true, he supposed.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he went on, in an effort to appear humble. "But there are some universe truths. And one of them is simply that there are worse things to be than eccentric. Especially around here."

[OOC: I checked the hiatus tags, and didn't see an off-hiatus post, so I think she's just not around yet.]

"This close to the dormitories?" Armand squeaked. Then he flushed, ashamed at himself. "Have any been this close that you've heard?" he asked, making an effort to speak more slowly and calm his tones back down to normal.

"That is likely also true. I find it hard to think in absolutes anymore." Other than the absolute that anything he set his will to do would go horribly wrong. "I can't believe how much being here has destroyed my faith in almost everything."

[OOC: I must have misread it, because I thought she was only going to be gone a few days. Thanks for looking.]

"They sometimes come this close," Citan confirmed, nodding. "Small ones. And this close it would be a simple matter to return the carcass to a safe room." And get to work.

When Armand mentioned his lack of faith, Citan's eyebrows drew down some. "You shouldn't lose your faith, my young friend. Like hope, faith sustains the soul and mind in even the darkest of hours. And I fear that we haven't reached those even yet." He reached out to lay a hand on the younger man's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

"We can hope then, I suppose." He would rather face a small one than something big and hungry. Armand stuck his hands in his pockets and found the door knob. The little metal ball could but put in the pillowcase and swung around he supposed.

When he felt the hand on his shoulder, his other hand went immediately to try to cover it. Just to touch another person was a kind of hell because of all the memories that surfaced. He didn't think Citan was like Percy in any other way (other than they were both brilliant enough to frighten him), but the eternal optimism struck dangerous chords in Armand's heart, the kinds of chords that brought his shame far too close to the surface. "I lost my faith in God years ago. The rest has just crumbled away."

Armand's wish came partly true. While the monsters that surfaced were small, there wasn't just one of them. The three rats made their way down the hall in a tightly-packed group, mouths dripping with saliva and yellowed claws clattering against the floor as they approached the two patients.

Like all of the creatures that resembled animals and served as monsters here at the institute, the rodents were far larger than they should have been, and their eyes glowed in a way that would probably come across as exaggerated.

But it was all very real - their hunger was very real.

"Have faith in yourself," Citan began to say, before the small clicking of claws on the floor caught his attention. His hand left Armand's shoulder in an instant, and he turned, eyes narrowing behind his small glasses.

"I believe we have company," he said, fighting the impulse to grin. Now this was more like it. Myriad eyes, glowing in the darkness. The thrill of the fight, the attack.

Citan dropped into a fighting stance, setting his flashlight on the ground to keep his hands free.

Perhaps he should have handed it off to Armand, but his mind was already three steps ahead, intent on the creatures coming for them.

While he didn't hear the noises before Citan reacted to them, he was only a few seconds behind. The light was on the floor, safe for now he hoped. Armand backed up a step or two, just far enough that he had a moment to put the knob into the case to use if he needed it. Otherwise he had only his feet and fists.

He wasn't skilled at all in this kind of fighting, but he was far better dressed in his woolen coat and trousers and knee-high leather boots to defend against smaller teeth and claws than Citan was. Against anything even a smidge more serious his clothes would mean nothing, even be a hindrance, but they gave him some confidence as he stepped up to Citan's side again. He swung the loaded pillowcase in one hand to get some momentum going and balled his free hand into a fist held slightly in front of his body as he somewhat copied Citan's low stance.

Against creatures so low to the ground, he wasn't sure the defensive blocks Alec and Morrison had shown him would be much help, but he tried to keep them in mind as well. So many things to keep track of when trying to fight. He hoped he could actually help this time.

Even if the patients had heard them and were ready, the rats didn't hesitate. They continued to stick close to each other as they reached the two, and it was only once they were practically at the two men's feet that they split up.

One rat went for Citan, tail swinging around as it jumped forward and aimed for his ankle. Another moved toward Armand, skirting around the pillowcase he was swinging in order to make an attempt to latch onto his leg as well.

The third started to circle around behind them, not wanting to give the two any chance of escape. The creatures didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that the things they were attacking were much larger than them.

Citan had to fight back a chuckle as the diseased little thing went for his foot. He brought his foot up and out in a sharp little kick, intending to catch the thing in its middle and send it backwards.

"Tenacious creatures, aren't they?" he called back to Armand, narrowing his eyes some at the animal going for his companion. He hated to turn his back on the one attack him, but...well...he knew Armand was no fighter.

"Yes," Armand agreed. He kicked out at the rat, to break its attempt to attach itself to him, and turned in place so he could swing the weighted pillowcase again. He lost track of the other two rats.

"Where did the other ones go?"

Citan's kick hit, and while the rat was tossed back with a startled cry and hit the wall, it didn't intend to simply lay down and die. It took a moment to gather itself and then raced forward again, this time attempting to jump up at Citan's legs, hooked claws outstretched.

The one targeting Armand was able to avoid his kick and then zone in on his leg, jumping up at it and then scratching down the man's shin.

The third one had managed to get around behind the two patients, and when it realized that one of its companions was having some success in its attack, it moved up behind Armand and made to nibble at his heel - but its teeth were by no means small.

Citan muttered a curse as he felt the rat's claws sink into his leg. The pain didn't bother him, rather the fact that the creature had managed a hit. It was simply an over-sized, diseased rodent! The constant reminders of his weakness in this place did not sit well with the man.

He brought a straight hand down on the thing's neck, lips set in a thin line. He was going to kill it. It and every foul creature this institute saw fit to release upon him.

"How are you faring, Armand?"

Armand hissed in pain as the claws, not so tiny now that they were sinking into his leg, ripped down his leg to his boot top. He knew better than to crouch, so he reached with his bare hand to try to pry it off, and back-stepped, right into the teeth of the one behind him. He kicked back with that food, hoping to dislodge the rodent.

"I found the other one," he said, not letting himself sink into worry yet.

When Citan's hand smacked down against the rat that had attached to him, it wailed and squirmed, wanting to get away since it knew that there was a chance that the human wanted to grab it. It realized that it might be doomed in the human's grasp, after all.

When the second rat's claws met the top of Armand's boot, it wasn't sure what to do. It didn't want to retreat without getting something for its efforts, and so it took a quick bite out of his leg before the man's hand threw it off.

The one that was biting at Armand's heel got two small chunks of flesh ripped out before it was kicked away, flying off of his foot and landing against the floor.

"We'll best them!" Citan grinned as he felt the creature's fear. He tried to snatch the scruff of it's neck, to pluck it up and finish it quickly and with as little mess as possible. He didn't want to make it bleed out, after all.

And Armand seemed to be handling himself rather well. Perhaps he could learn a few simple moves.

Since he was resigned to being bitten, Armand had his jaw clenched tight so he wouldn't cry out when the teeth sank into him. But then he freed himself of the creatures. He whirled around in place, trying to focus on one of the two that had attacked him. His step was unsteady--he'd never realized how much one used one's heels. He wasn't sure if they needed to kill all of them, or if just one would satisfy Citan.

In the end, the rat that Citan was after wasn't able to get away. It screeched when it was seized, not wanting to imagine what might be coming next. It flailed around as much as it could, willing to do anything in order to get away from the man before something terrible happened to it.

Though the two rats that had been after Armand had dispersed, that didn't mean they were ready to quit. When he didn't make any immediate attempt to attack them, the one that he wasn't facing jumped for his leg again, while the other remained where it was and tried to anticipate what would happen next.

Nightshift 35: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

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