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's eyes widened and he reached up to lightly touch Artemis's face,smiling.

"I promise I will be here when you wake up. I swear I won't disappear on you, only to return to hurt you."

His fingers gently stroked his skin. "I will always be here when you wake up." He could not leave. Not while Zabuza-san was here. Not while Artemis was here.

Apparently despite the fact that Artemis hadn't had a visitor, the visiting day alone had shaken him. The boy held Haku's hand to his cheek fiercely.

"I know... I know, why did I have to ask, I know this already," he said, sounding a little dazed and confused. "...it's because it's our anniversary, I suppose. Our blanket anniversary."

Haku blinked. He was aware of how much timehadpassed, but it hadn't occured to him to think of it as an 'anniversary'. Smiling, he nodded.

"Then should we be in a happier mood?"

Artemis nodded slightly "We should... We seem to have the most serious conversations. I wonder if we could go one night without my taking things in a dark direction," the boy mused.

Haku smiled warmly. "I don't know," he said. "I'm rather good at leading you down that path myself."

Artemis gave a short laugh. "It takes two to tango. ...that's a dance, by the way."

Laughing, Haku nodded. "An interesting name for a dance," he said. "Do you 'Tango'?"

An attempt at moving the conversation to lighter topics.

"A bit, yes. But I'm better with the waltz. Speaking of which," Artemis gladly followed Haku into the land of lighter topics. "There's something in the pocket of my coat. Will you bring it to me?"

Haku stood, moving over to the aforementioned coat and removed ... a bit of plastic. "This," he asked, holding it up.

"Yes," Artemis said. "It's a compact disc player--CD player for short. Schuldig bought it for me in town." The boy scooted over and patted the bed next to him. "I'd like you to listen with me."

Haku brought it over and sat down beside Artemis. "Here you are." He was curious about the 'see dee player'.

"All right," Artemis delicately slipped one of the headphones onto Haku's ear and put the other one on himself. Opening the lid, he began to peruse the track list. Ah, Berlioz. That was a good piece to start with. He flipped through the track numbers, finding the one he wanted, and he hit the play button.

"This is what I listen to in my world."

Haku blinked, leaning closer to listen. "Oh," he breathed, watching the player closely. "Wow."

"This is how we record and store music. Large groups of people play the same part together and create this," Artemis was quiet as the piece began, as the volume was rather low at the very beginning. He slowly conducted the piece with his bandaged left hand, closing his eyes and enjoying the piece.

"It's called Hexensabbath. A witches' holiday," he translated.

Haku smiled, nodding and listening carefully to the music. It wasn't like anything he'd heard before.

"And all of your music sounds like this? Do people perform it for others? Or is it all stored on here?"

"Well, this is only one person's music. There are many different composers on this CD, and each one has a different style and voice."

He opened his eyes after a minute or so. "Groups all over the world gather together and play this music. Either for audiences or recordings. But there's nothing like being in the presence of a full orchestra playing one of these pieces. I myself played a Beethoven piano concerto in Dublin. I'll take you to a concert one day."

"That would be nice," Haku said, closing his own eyes to listen. He shifted closer, getting more comfortable on the bed without jarring the oxygen tank or tubes. "I have only ever gone to plays, but never had the chance to enjoy them."

Usually, it was for a job. Seeing something like this without having to worry about the person he was going to kill would be very nice indeed.

"It's really a grand affair. Everyone dressed in black tie--tuxedos and gowns, that is--sitting in the music hall, listening to the finest and most talented musicians work their magic. The low, clear A at the beginning, drawing the listener into the realm of musical expression."

Artemis' half-lidded gaze was growing more and more distant. "Music expresses what words cannot."

"Art does that," Haku said softly. "It's amazing really."

"It's like a language unto itself. A realm where words are superfluous. Whole ideas can be expressed in a few bars of music. It grips the heart and suddenly everything isn't as important. Suddenly the weakest man is a lion, and the ones who thought love was impossible are brought to tears of longing. It's... amazing. Realistically impossible, but amazing."

"It's interesting," Haku pointed out after listening quietly for a few moments more. "That music can still evoke the same sorts of feelings and bring similar images to mind between people like us, who don't even share a reality, let alone a language."

Artemis nodded, "I thought it would be something we could share." The boy blinked, his gaze suddenly becoming much more aware. "Though, if you don't like it, that's fine as well. I can understand if you don't."

Haku smiled and waved a hand, not wanting to risk shaking his head and dislodging the ear piece. "No, I like it. Very much. Thank you for sharing it with me Artemis. Really."

Artemis looked very pleased with himself and rested his head on Haku's shoulder, continuing to conduct the piece with his hand. "It's soothing. I usually do this right before I have to enact one of my more risky plots. So I suppose listening to this with you is just about the best preparation I could hope for."

Haku shifted to tuck his legs up beside him on the bed, magaging to fold himself comfortably on a fairly narrow stip of bedding. "I wish I could join you," he said softly, "At least for moral support."

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