damned_institute | Day 36: Intercom, Evening

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Day 36: Intercom, Evening

The intercom's jingle rang out and the somewhat uninhibited movement that was going on between the main activity rooms halted as the Head Doctor made one of his usual announcements.

"Good evening everyone, and I'm very pleased to see so many of you in such high spirits after meeting with your loved ones! However, like with all good things, it can't last forever, so I ask now for nurses to escort our patients in the waiting rooms and in the main areas back to their rooms, where they will be treated with a special Sunday... steak! That's right: today, we'll be serving juicy, delicious steak with fries and cooked vegetables on the side – simple enough for everyone to like and good enough for everyone to thoroughly enjoy! (Our patients with specialized diets will receive their alternate meals, of course.) Our usual beverages are available, and for dessert, we'll be serving warm slices of apple pie.

"After all, patients, t's always wonderful to see all of you cooperating with the staff even when given so much freedom, so I'd like to personally thank and congratulate all of you for helping us, your family, and more importantly, yourselves. Hopefully, we can help you to a speedy recovery so that you can see your loved ones more often, but first... dinner! I hope to speak with you all again soon."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you!

On an added note, just wanted to clarify to players of characters who are canonly vegetarians and the like that you get to decide (within reasonable and realistic limits) what kind of diet your character gets from the staff. :3 ]

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Haku sat down, but paid no attention to his own food, instead taking up Artemis's utensil's and started to cut the meat into manageable bits.

"No, I did not. Though, I didn't leave the room again." He smiled, laughing softly. "I feel so silly." He glanced up.

"Did you?"

"I didn't," Artemis said, his relief clear in his tone. "But the person who saved me last night wasn't so fortunate. I suppose it was lucky that I was in the right state of mind to help him."

He watched Haku cut his food for a moment. "Do you intend to feed me, mother?" he said with a lopsided grin.

"Good." He smiled and went back to the plate of food on Artemis's lap.

"I certainly hope you don't think of me as a parent," he said, tone teasing, as he held up the fork with a bit of meat on it, making his answer of 'yes, he did' clear.

"Not at all," Artemis said leaning forward and taking the bit off the tines. He chewed and swallowed. "Just an overprotective guardian of sorts, but..." he grinned teasingly.

Haku laughed softly. "Well, I suppose I could back off, if it bothers you...." He held up another bit of meat.

"But then I'd just have to protect you from a distance."

"Who said it bothered me? Honestly, so many people are leaping to conclusions today," Artemis said, acting a little huffy. He took the proffered meat again, chewed and swallowed.

"For example, this one boy was convinced that I could heal myself. Imagine," Artemis flashed a small smirk. "A normal person like me able to perform something supernatural. Unheard of."

Haku rolled his eyes, going for the vegetables next. "Odd. To think that anyone here is anything other than a normal human being."

He held up the fork, shifting enough to reach for Artemis's glass as well. "You, being the most normal of us all."

Artemis grinned, "Well, let's be fair, I couldn't have both intelligence and magical ability. It just isn't fair."

He conveniently left out the part where he confessed that it was likely he didn't have any magic left.

"Besides," Artemis took another bite. "He doesn't have sufficient proof."

Haku smiled and shook his head. "Proof isn't as important as belief," he pointed out. "It's just not as strong."

"Well," Artemis took a sip of water and set his glass down. "Near can believe all he wants that I have magical abilities, and claim that if I hadn't I would be dead now, but there are far too many variables."

The boy was silent in thought for a moment. "If the population finds out that I have this ability, certain expectations will fall on me."

"Whatever he says will more than likely fall on deaf ears," Haku said, holding up another bit of meat.

"Not many believe in things that are so foreign to them as magic."

"True. And it would be his word against mine. And considering my standing here..." Artemis took the meat. "And the sheer brute force I have behind me..." Artemis grinned at Haku teasingly.

"Oh yes, indeed." Haku smiled back, matching Artemis tease for tease. "Who wouldn't trust a young man whose allies are all assasins and monsters?"

"My point exactly," Artemis said. He liked it much better when he and Haku played instead of talked about serious things. Part of him was a little apologetic towards Schuldig, but he couldn't help it. He was happy. And he couldn't see a reason not to be.

"One can't help but trust those who have unruly and exorbitant sources of power."

"You are certainly one normal young man," Haku said, offering more food.

"Why, I feel more normal just sitting beside you."

Artemis had to laugh at that one. "Well, if you want to talk about normalcy, I would have to claim that you're sapping my normal and exchanging it for whatever bizarre humor you carry! For all I know, I could be growing these powers because of you."

Haku laughed lightly. "So now I'm some sort of carrier for strangeness? Or 'magic'? That's certainly a new one, but considering how little I know about myself, it's possible."

He made a show of stifiling a sudden sneeze. "That was close."

Artemis laughed again, "Indeed. If it got into my food and I ingested it, who knows what could happen? I could lose all this lovely body heat you love so much. And you'd have no one to blame but yourself," he said with a dramatic sigh.

Haku pretended to think about that. "True... but then you would never had reason to complain about my own body temperature."

"And who said I complained about it?" Artemis said, huffing and pouting slightly. "I like your temperature."

"Ah, then you would be happy to be as cold as I am all the time?" Haku held up the glass again with a smile.

"That would certianly be interesting."

"I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference," Artemis said, crossing his arms over his chest and refusing the water. "You can't tell the difference, can you? Or do you wish you were as warm as I was?"

"I can tell when something is warmer than I am," Haku said, setting the water to the side.

"But as for cold... I spent my winters in thin summer clothing. I hated to be bundled up when I was young." He smiled at the memory of someone pointing out to Zabuza-san that he needed better winter shoes than simple sandles and his own confusion over the matter.

Artemis seemed to be satisfied with this answer and picked up his glass. "So one could argue that it is beneficial in winter. What about summers? Are those uncomfortably hot?"

"Not where I'm from," Haku said with a smile and shake of his head. "My home village always had snow or at least a light frost on the ground. I've never been anywhere it was terribly hot before."

He glanced at the door. "Until here. It's rather warm here."

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