damned_institute | Day 21

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Day 21 - Sun Room

Ichigo was only too eager to leave the cafeteria and its fresh memories behind when the softened chime of the intercome rang clear. What had begun as another ordinary meal, a rather agreeable one despite the lack of the proper utensils, quickly became somewhat unnerving. His conversation with...what was his name again?...took so many sharp turns, he should've felt dizzy. It was easy to feel a little sorry for the guy, though; surrounded by stangers in a very strange place, it was hard to blame him for being so alarmed.

The Sun Room occurred as a more enjoyable choice to spend the time; he had nothing against music, but something about being surrounded by some of the most unruly characters he'd ever met, each of them armed with cacophonous weaponry, didn't sound smart. Once his nurse departed, the young man picked out a cozy little spot near a flood of sunshine and settled in, cradling his head in the palms of his hands. There, he stared up almost bitterly at the ceiling with sharply focused eyes, still exuding the same unapproachable sense of being as ever.

The room was warm, even a little comforting, for any of the tired, weary masses found in Landel's halls, or even those who just craved a little peace and quiet. All he could hear, from end of the room, were soft footfalls and hushed voices. That sounded just fine to the 'berry head.

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And again, Lyta had to blink. He thought she was a soldier? Where did he get that idea? Maybe it was just her demeanor - she wasn't exactly a people person these days. But really, could anyone blame her?

"Military? No." Not even close. More like the opposite, really. "I mean, I've fought in wars, but I'm not in an army. Why do you think I might be in a military? Or is it that where you come from, if a woman can handle herself she has to be a soldier?"

Alright, her tone was a little offensive, but she wasn't going to sit here and shoot the breeze with some guy who had some stupid, outdated view of women.

Kaylee was in a pretty good mood, all things considered. Well, she usually was, but life at Landel's had dampened her moods somewhat. It had been nice to talk to a fellow mechanic in the library, even if the subject matter had turned weird and, frankly, disturbing. Other Worlds, and not just planets in the 'Verse. Alfons had been from Earth-That-Was, or so he claimed...and he'd given a date that simply could not be believed.

1923?

The mechanic had spent lunch lost in thought and totally without the usual exuberance she put into eating good food. She had barely even registered the taste.

When she was escorted into the Sun Room, Kaylee had to stop herself from making a bee-line toward the Captain. No, he was busy...plus she still had questions she needed answered, and sitting just a couple of meters away was a person that she knew could help ~~who was also busy, but she wasn't going to go into that.~~

Giving the person one of her characteristically sunny smiles, Kaylee walked over.

"Lyta, right?"

Havoc's smile drooped at the woman's accusing words. "Hey, I didn't mean to offend you!" he said quickly, his hands going up in front of him as if to protect himself. "I was just asking a question. A lot of people I've met here are some sort of military." Havoc wasn't sure what else to say. He had a feeling that anything he said to this woman would be the wrong thing. Luckily for him they were interrupted. And Havoc was grateful.

He turned at the sound of a new voice and couldn't help but smile. How could you not smile at someone who had such a great smile as that. Especially here. And especially considering his present company.

Lyta rolled her eyes. The guy couldn't even stand up for himself, he backed down the minute she raised her voice. "Calm down," she said, her expression her usual less-than-pleased one.

Lyta, as well, was somewhat grateful for the interruption. Even if it came from that ridiculously bubbly girl she'd met her first night.

"Yeah." Great, what did she want? At least Zelos wasn't around this time. Lyta could only take so much of his incessant flirting with anything with breasts - and his refusal to shut up and have a normal conversation.

Kaylee seemed perfectly unfazed by Lyta's apparent annoyance. No, she was paying more attention to the good-looking guy she was with--tall, blond, a couple years older than Simon, great smile. She liked him already.

"Oh, good, I was scared I'd forgotten your name. I'm Kaylee," she said, mostly for the benefit of the man next to Lyta than the redhead's own. "I heard some real weird things in the library, and I was wonderin' if you could answer some questions...especially since you said you were from Earth-That--Earth, and all."

"Hi, Kaylee," Havoc said, his grin spreading. "I'm Havoc. Do you want to sit down?" He quickly got to his feet, gesturing to the now vacant chair. "So you two can talk."

He leaned toward Kaylee and mock whispered with a laugh, "Though she's kinda cranky so be careful what you say. I think I'm lucky I'm still in one piece."

"No, you didn't forget." Lyta tried not to roll her eyes again as the guy - Havoc - jumped up to give Kaylee his chair. "There are other chairs," she said, not bothering to bite her tongue. When had she ever.

"I don't know how many questions I can answer for you," she admitted, honestly. "There's a lot of stuff I don't get. This whole place is weird, and I've seen a lot of crazy stuff. But... yeah, go ahead, ask."

"Oh you don't have t'get--" But it was too late. The tall guy--Havoc, apparently--had already done the gentlemanly thing and vacated his seat. Grateful, Kaylee sat and gave him another one of her best grins.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Havoc! You can stay, if you want...questions I got ain't exactly for Lyta only. Just trying to separate the truth from the gos se here."

The mechanic didn't answer Havoc's friendly little jab at the redhead's bad mood, though she did laugh. "Anyway, first off...what year is it, on Earth?"

Havoc grinned back at Kaylee as he sat cross legged on the floor by her feet, fully intending to take her up on her offer for him to stay. Of course Havoc had a tendency to grin at most people, but her smile was so infectious and refreshing to see here that he couldn't stop grinning. He probably looked like an idiot but that wasn't too unusual for him either.

"Nice to meet you too, Kaylee!" He didn't say anything more, just leaned back on his hands to listen as the two women talked.

"The year? Before I woke up here, it was..." Lyta had to take a minute to add on her time in uncharted space. "2263, I guess. I wasn't on Earth, so I could have missed the new year." she shrugged. "I had other things on my mind."

While the good moods coming off the two of them were better than the constant fear and anger, it did make for a jarring combination.

Oh, well, that worked.

Kaylee grinned down at Havoc on the floor, amused by the way he was sitting. The mechanic almost even forgot to listen to Lyta's answer!

"2263? Huh. I'm from 2517." Had...humans left Earth-That-Was by 2263? She honestly couldn't remember. Things as dry as history had never interested her.

Havoc had no clue what Kaylee and Lyta were talking about. Not that he was really trying to follow it anyway. He was a bit...distracted. But how could he not be distracted by a really cute girl grinning at him. Of course all he could do was continue to grin up at her.

"2517? Haven't humans left Earth by now?" That would be enough time for them to grow and evolve enough to move beyond the Rim, right?

She would have said more but suddenly, without warning, there was a stabbing pain in her head. Like ice picks stabbing into her. One hand rose to her temples and her eyes squeezed shut in pain, feeling swept away under the sudden assault of fear and violent pain.

"I..." The telepath struggled to get hold of herself, to slam up her blocks, to drive out that awful, awful sensation. But she couldn't, and she knew it was from another telepath. Nothing that strong could come from a mundane. She couldn't even get up to try and offer some help, all she could do was double up as though the pain was her own.

"Shit!"

Kaylee nodded. "Yeah, that's why we call it 'Earth-That-Was.' I was born on a little, dirt-poor moon on the outskirts of nowhere." She would have continued, but then Lyta doubled over like she was in pain, clutching at her head. It was so sudden that the mechanic was taken aback, looking desperately at Havoc for clues as to what she should do.

"Hey! You okay?"

Havoc turned his attention from Kaylee to Lyta, a look of shock and concern quickly forming. Granted, he wasn't that fond of the redhead, but she was obviously in some sort of distress. He got to his knees in front of her, trying to peer at her face, a hand tentatively reaching toward her shoulder. "Lyta?"

Havoc glanced helplessly at Kaylee. He had no idea what to do either. What was wrong with Lyta? One moment she was fine and the next...this. The woman was unsettling enough on her own, this just made it worse. Maybe lunch hadn't agreed with her...

"In my head!" Lyta managed to grind out, her hands now pressed firmly to her temples as she - hatefully - reached back to all of her Corps training. She had to filter it, block it, get it out of her mind. "I can't... block it out!" She groaned, teeth clenched together as the flood started to pull back, the fear and panic starting to fade. She was breathing heavily, calling up all her mental strengths to just push out everything.

She didn't even notice Havoc was moving to touch her.

"In your..."

Kaylee froze. Cuts and scrapes she could deal with, but something inside Lyta's head? That was Simon's territory, not hers. If Lyta was an engine, she'd be fine, but...

"D'you want some water? Should we get a nurse?"

Havoc's hand stopped just shy of Lyta's shoulder. What the hell was she talking about? There was something in her head? Maybe she was crazy or something. Or maybe the doctors had done something to her at night.

"Yeah, you want anything? What can we do?" Havoc was at a total loss. He finally let his hand lightly grip her shoulder. "Let us help you."

"No nurse!" Lyta practically snapped. "No nurse, I have it... I'm getting it under control." She went to hold up a hand, but Havoc's hand reached her shoulder and she froze at the contact. Through the touch, his surface thoughts flooded through, hitting her like a punch in the aftermath of what had just happened.

"Don't touch me," she said, forcing her voice to be as calm and non-hostile as she could. She jerked away, though, opening her eyes. "Unless you want me hearing everything you're thinking. Which, I already did.... I am not crazy, and the doctors didn't do anything!"

"You sure...?" Kaylee asked, still very concerned. Lyta didn't exactly look like she was getting under control.

She looked like River.

The realization hit her very suddenly, reinforced by what the redhead said next. Lyta could read minds, and touch made her abilities stronger?

Okay, so maybe not EXACTLY like River, but close enough that the mechanic stared at her, wide-eyed.

"You're a Reader? Just like River..."

Havoc's hand dropped to his thigh, his fingers unconsciously twisting into the loose fabric of his pants. How the hell did she do that? How did she know his thoughts? As he tried to process the shock of it all, another part of his mind began trying to gauge just how dangerous she might be. Because as a soldier this was something Havoc had no idea how to defend against. How do you defend your thoughts?

Kaylee's words soon filtered through and Havoc's shock was rekindled. "There's another one?" He wondered if metal helmets could protect thoughts. And if they did, where could he get one.

"I'm a telepath," Lyta clarified, taking a few deep breaths. "Maybe it's the same thing. There are a couple of other ones running around, I can feel them. They feel stronger than normal minds, the... the static is different." She sat back and pressed a hand to her temple, her blocks up as best as she could manage.

"Oh, relax." She couldn't read the man's mind - or she could, if she wanted - but she could feel how nervous he was all of a sudden. "It only happened because you touched me. Normally I just... emotions."

Kaylee nodded. "That's River. The Alliance did things to 'er, cut her brain open at this place that was s'posed to be a school, but wasn't. She ain't really right in the head anymore because of it."

Wait. Why was she saying this? Lyta could just be pretending, to get her to talk about River.

And yet...somehow the mechanic doubted that.

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Day 21 - Sun Room

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