damned_institute | Day 37: Sun Room

Entry tags:

Day 37: Sun Room

Joe had read some of the larger notes stuck up on the bulletin board when the announcement came on the intercom. All things considered, this Landel guy didn't even seem so bad. Even if these people were held here against their will, he was certainly nice about it.

Apparently, the new patients - including Joe - were to hang around in the Sun Room or go to Arts and Crafts with the kids. Well, there was plenty of information on the board, including maps and descriptions of monsters, for Joe to prepare for the nighttime, when he could seriously get going on fighting his way out. He could look for where the boss would probably be waiting, or where his V-watch might be, and figure out how to fight the monsters. In fact, he had plenty of time to work all that out... but this the first time he'd had to really relax since he got his powers. So it couldn't possibly hurt to enjoy the calm period, could it?

The red-head stepped back from the board, and hopped back onto a comfy-looking couch to digest in the sunlight. He reached up to pull his cap down, and sighed when he realized it wasn't there. "Oh well, nothing's perfect. I still wouldn't call this hell."

[free!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[for falis]

Today was going to be a good day.

That's how Yukari was feeling, at least, as she was pulled away from yet another conversation and into the next thing of the day. It was kind of disappointing, if anything, as she was beginning to realize she was really liking talking to Kagura. Perhaps some other time she would have to try to find the other girl again.

Feelings aside, she hoped it was going to be one-- Yukari firmly believed she deserved one after yesterday starting off bad and only got worse. It didn't sound like anything "special" was planned today on Landel's part, though, so she tried not to worry about it too much. Instead, Yukari headed off to her usual choice during these optional shifts-- arts and crafts wasn't her thing, and that sounded so childish anyway-- plopping down on a couch somewhere.

... Although, maybe if she got bored enough, she'd go.

Boredom would not find Yukari this day. Instead, a bounty hunter did.

Falis had been annoyed that she couldn't finish the conversation with Amada, the vultures arriving to herd them on, but she'd gotten the important bits across without having to tell Amada if things went for the worst, she'd have to kill Yukari. Oddly enough, though Falis lived for the hunt and the challenge things like vampires presented, she felt no excitement at all about the prospect of hunting and killing future vampire Yukari. It was clear she meant a lot to the boy and Falis had always been a sucker for kids.

Her eyes fell on the potential bloodsucker when she left the cafeteria. Hmmm... She did need to talk to the girl herself, explain the whole thing with the vultures yesterday and... well, now she needed to observe the girl's behaviorisms. Maybe, just maybe (like a gutter slug's chances at a salt mine) she'd get Yukari to let her see the bites.

Leaning up against the back of the couch Yukari had chosed, her long mane of hair falling down onto the seat, Falis looked over her shoulder down at the sitting girl. "Aaa... I've got some explaining to do, don't I?"

Yukari had been focused on what was in front of her and not so much behind, so Falis' appearance startled her. She quickly shifted in her spot on the couch, turning around to get a better look at who just approached her.

Recognition took a minute to settle in, but once it did Yukari's face went from visibly puzzled to a frown. "Glad you realized it," she replied, sounding expectant. If anything, Yukari nearly forgot what happened, with more important things getting in the way, but that didn't mean she was going to forgo an explanation. "So what was that all about?"

The bounty hunter turned more toward the couch, her intense gaze falling squarely on the girl she was addressing. Her journal with the folded up file was tucked under her arm as she faced her potential target. She wanted to stop thinking of her like that, but she couldn't. Not until Falis knew she wasn't going to have to stake the girl and then cut her head off.

"I needed some information out of the vultures," she said with a look up at the staff walking the balcony above them, wondering how many were specifically watching her. She counted three before she looked back at Yukari. "Best way to do that was to pretend that we were good friends given how much the one that personally attends me keeps wanting me to get along with everyone and meet new people."

She scoffed at the notion that she needed help making friends or that she was that bubbly soccer player that that damn file said she was. She shrugged a little, frowning in annoyance at the pulling the motion did to the stitches on her shoulder.

"Information?" The look on her face was confused at best; what on earth did someone she never talked to want out of her? Much as Yukari tried to figure it out, in the end she came up with nothing. It wasn't like there was anything particularly special about her that anyone should or could be looking out for.

"Like what?" Yukari asked, more curious than demanding. "I'm pretty sure we haven't met before. On that note, how do you know my name, anyway?"

Falis grinned, making an honest attempt to try and tame the natural wildness that she knew accompanied it. "If you pay attention to what's all around you, who talks to who, things on the board... it's pretty easy to figure out a person's name," Falis replied. "We're in the same hallway."

"Oh, and I needed to get my hands on your roommate's file, so I tricked the nurses into telling me what name they called her." Now she'd see what kind of reaction Yukari would give her. Would she be protective of the vamp like a ghoul? Would she be suspicious like one that was starting to turn? Would she be open, like a girl that had been terrorized by the vampire but still in control of all her faculties? Falis was careful not to look at the bandages on Yukari's neck.

Okay, she had her there, and Yukari often used the board anyway. Perhaps it was easy to figure her out, since she didn't make much effort in hiding it-- there wasn't any reason to.

How ever Falis found out who she was, if it bothered her in the slightest, it didn't last for long; of course, Yukari was surprised to hear this turned into the issue about her roommate. Former roommate, she should say, as Diva was not there this morning either when she woke. It didn't surprise her in the least to hear that she was causing problems with other people, although to be honest, Yukari had never thought what she would be doing when not locked in their rooms during the evening.

"Oh, is that all?" Yukari said, suddenly sounding very detached to the conversation-- or much like she wanted to be. "Fine, whatever. Do what you want, I don't care."

Avoidance.

Falis recognized that reaction, easy to pick up given Yukari wasn't aware of who she was actually talking to and wasn't aware that the blonde had been in her room, that she knew the bloodsucker had been using Yukari as an renewable food source. It was clear that the girl didn't want the conversation to continue to focus on her roommate, but Falis wasn't about to let her off the subject.

Not with the bloodsucking fiend that may be the girl's new master gone.

"Aaa... that's much appreciated, Yukari," Falis replied, her voice still casual, though her eyes indicated there was more to this. Falis was decent enough at acting, but her eyes usually gave her away with as striking as they were.

"I've been tracking her," Falis replied. "Wanna tell me anything about her other than she's gone?" The bounty hunter took two fingers and tapped her own neck with them, not once taking her eyes off the girl's.

It would be one thing if Falis simply wanted information about Diva; maybe Yukari would have even obliged, that is, if she knew much about her at all. Admittedly, there was very little, and she was content with just that.

But Falis had this look in her eyes that implied it was more than that, that there was some sort of intention beneath them, and for some reason she was involved. Once she tapped her neck, however, it was simple enough to put two and two together, and Yukari averted her own eyes away. If Falis was as good at finding things out as she made herself to be-- and Diva never seemed to bother hiding who or what she was-- then she must have figured out what had happened to her... several times, even.

"Not really," Yukari answered frankly. "Don't think I knew everything about her. She was a monster, plain and simple."

Good, Yukari wasn't denying it. She wasn't tensed up as if she was about to bolt... yet. Falis couldn't be comforting, not until she knew more about what happened.

"Yes, she is," the bounty hunter said, pulling out the single 5x7 photo of the vampire she'd kept from the file she'd given Amada from her journal and reached over to lay it down in Yukari's lap. "This is very important, Yukari," she said in a low voice that wouldn't carry beyond them. "I need to know... how many times did she feed on you and when did she first start."

Yukari watched as Falis placed the photo on her lap, staring at it long enough to recognize that yes, that was the same girl who had been in the same room with her. The expression on her face was nothing if not grim, and Yukari flipped the picture over on the cushion beside her, indicating that she would prefer not to look at it. Forgetting all about her and everything to do with it was easier.

She paused to consider what to say, afterwards directing another incredulous frown at Falis. "Why? Whether I told you or not, you can't do anything to her when she's not around."

The blonde picked the photo back up and slipped it into her journal before setting the book with other papers shoved into it on the back of the couch next to where she leaned.

"That's the problem; she's gone. This would be a simple matter if she was still here," Falis stated. "Are you familiar with the potential effects of a vampire's bite?"

The answer to that varied, didn't it? Well, depending on which story you read or heard, and the thing was Yukari read very, very little on the subject ever. The things that went bump in the night was something that did not interest her... and rubbed her the wrong way, as well. It was kind of embarrassing to admit that even at seventeen she could still be spooked over a simple horror story, but unfortunately, that was the truth.

Another truth was around here at Landel's, all the crazy stories one would think they'd only ever read in a book or see in a movie were as real as anything else. Yukari was over denying it, no matter how weird or strange or whatever things did and were going to continue to sound. Knowing this much, well... those stories could be real now, couldn't they? Her eyes suddenly became a little wider, newfound worry swelling up in her chest; all Yukari could do in response was shake her head some wordlessly, because she honestly couldn't say what would happen.

At the sudden reality that there may indeed be consequences to the vampire's bite plain as day on Yukari's face, a small bit of compassion slipped into Falis' eyes. She didn't want to tell the girl she may be turning. She didn't want to tell her that her mind may be taken over by the vampire, even if she wasn't here; they were known to be able to call their ghouls from miles away.

"The effects are varied depending on the type of vampire. She's gone now, so I don't know what type she is. Only you have the knowledge of her habits," Falis said, shifting slightly closer to the girl, but not invading her personal space.

"I've encountered many vampires during my life, many different types, Yukari. There are three common effects a vampire's bite inflicts." She paused, meeting the girl's eyes. "The first is the victim dies of blood loss - obvious not the case for you as you're alive. The other two..." This sucked to be saying. The girl may very well bolt upon hearing it; the bounty hunter was prepared for it.

"The victim either becomes a ghoul - a vampire's servant, or... they turn."

"Turn?" Yukari was dubious, naturally, and despite what she told herself before, she was reluctant to accept the news right away. She wasn't about to get up and walk away, no matter how tempting it was.

"I'm only alive because I got lucky." It was something she hardly wanted to admit to anyone, and Yukari would have rather never said it. Unfortunately, if she wanted any hope in disproving Falis' worry, someone who-- apparently-- knew what they were talking about, then she was going to have to say as much. It wasn't easy, and the way Yukari relayed her words made this obvious. "She intended to kill me almost every night, whether it was by force or... this." Her words trailed off hesitantly as Yukari brought up her hand, brushing the side of her neck softly with her fingers.

That certainly added up to the signs she'd seen in F29. "That doesn't mean your death was her only intent. Weakening a victim through physical force just facilitates the transformation, when the body can no longer fight it off."

She glanced at Yukari's neck a moment before focusing back on her face. "Please." That was a rare word coming from her; it felt so unfamiliar in her mouth. "Please... let me examine the bites. I need to check your condition, so I can see if you're suffering any of the adverse effects."

"I'm fine, there's nothing..."

Yukari cut herself short from the outburst, once again nearly claiming everything would be all right and she didn't need help from anyone. The latter she would still claim true, and if she knew where to begin fixing all this for herself she wouldn't have stopped. But there was the problem: she didn't.

It was difficult to say by now if there was anything wrong at all. Yukari truly felt okay, and the only problems that arose all this time were the physical pain that came with what Diva decided to inflict on her.

Although... Yukari was left worried enough to consider what Falis was telling her. She sounded genuinely concerned, too, which struck the teenager as a little odd considering they didn't even know each other outside of this situation. So, after swallowing a bit of pride, more hesitation, and whatever other anxious feeling, Yukari unraveled the wrap around her neck. She glanced around to see if any of the nurses would give her disapproving glares-- they'd been insisting to let it heal-- but none of them seemed to be doing so, or at least notice yet.

Falis would be getting what she wanted: the scars, not yet fully healed but close enough on getting there, were there on both sides of her neck, one looking much worse than the other. There were times where she tried to give a fight, after all, and then one where Yukari nearly gave up.

The bounty hunter's eyes narrowed slightly when Yukari first opened her mouth, ready to call bullshit, but the girl thankfully shut her mouth. Falis was trying to do this tactfully, which was quite difficult at times, and the other really didn't want her to stop trying and just resorting to the other methods. This was all because of Amada and that look he got on his face when he realized what this stubborn girl had been keeping from him.

Maybe being a princess really had softened her up some. Maybe Milano had finally managed to bring that side of her out. Damn girl...

She watched carefully as Yukari unwrapped the bandages from her neck, a part of her slightly amazed the girl was doing so. Maybe it was the please. Hmm... perhaps Falis would use that word more often if it granted her results like this. Funny word - please.

The bounty hunter also glanced at the vultures, noting that a few less were watching her than before, and then she carefully climbed over the back of the couch to sit on it next to Yukari, a small grunt slipping from her thanks to her leg. She kept her distance at first, shifting positions so she could observe one mark and then the other. They... appeared at first look to be healing properly. That was a plus, but that didn't mean everything was alright with them.

Her brow furrowing in concentration, Falis reached out and, with a touch surprisingly gentle for the fierce bounty hunter, probed the skin surrounding the worse of the two bites. Her focus was on temperature changes, growths, various other things that could indicate there was something going on at the source of where the vampirism would have entered her body.

"Tell me if anything starts to hurt or if you start to feel sick," she said in a soft voice as her fingers moved with purpose across the wound. "I'm Alita Forland, by the way, crown princess of the Forland Kingdom. We've talked on the board."

The touch was unexpected, and the slight twitch that came afterwards showed it. Yukari really hoped nobody was watching, because this was embarrassing; she felt like a little kid being checked over after hurting themselves. Everyone had to have been paying enough attention to not notice what Falis was doing... hopefully. In her quick scan around the room Yukari was already spotting some familiar faces, and she didn't want to explain why someone was prodding at her neck if she could help it should they see.

"Oh," Yukari blinked, realization hitting her once again. "So you're one of the people who helped Ken-kun the other night." That's why they were corresponding, after all.

"It hasn't hurt for a few days now," she finished off with a matter-of-fact tone. "I wasn't lying when I said I felt fine."

"Yeah, I'm the one with the sword," Falis replied, moving her fingers over to do a cursory check of the less nasty of the two marks. "I don't doubt you when you say you feel fine," she continued, knowing the change took time with some vampire types.

The examination revealed the wounds were healing properly, no infection that she could detect like she had in some victims back home and there were no signs of dead skin about the bite. The wounds appeared to be more like Kagura's and she'd healed with no adverse effects.

Now that she finished, she sat back, giving Yukari room again, taking the time to purposefully stretch so that anyone looking over at them would focus on her and not on the other girl as she wrapped her neck again. She sighed. "I wish I'd seen these when they were fresh. How long ago did she first feed on you?"

Did she have to word it that way? Yukari gave an audible sigh of her own, although it was far more annoyed.

"... It was about a week ago," she answered, both hands primly folded on her lap.

Falis scowled a bit at that sigh. What did Yukari expect from her? The bounty hunter wasn't all roses and sunshine and shit like that.

"Look. I know you don't want to talk about this - any sane person wouldn't," she stated, "but I'd rather find out as much as I can now while you're still in control in case you do turn." She let out a long breath.

"I'm not trying to scare you; I'm trying to make you aware so if something does change, you know what's causing it." She paused. "And then you can come to me before you become... dangerous. IF it happens. There is hope - a friend of mine has also been attacked by a vampire. The bloodsucker that got her isn't the one that got you, but she hasn't turned and hasn't shown any signs that she will. This does mean, though, that I'm going to be asking you some questions, some that'll probably seem pretty fucking ridiculous to you, but I need you to answer them honestly. Can you do that for me?"

Yukari had to bite her lip to refrain from interjecting with another comment. One that probably would have insisted on one thing or another, protesting this or that wasn't going to happen and god, could she just redo today already?

The look on her face was hardly a willing one, but if this was going to get this done and over with, who was she to say no? Maybe then Ken would stop worrying over it so much and Renamon wouldn't continue saying she needed a hand and Falis would go away and stop talking about all this vampire stuff. This was more than enough, thank you.

Despite herself, Yukari gave a very casual gesture of her hand. "Yeah, I can."

"Thanks." The bounty hunter calmed, though the scowl only tempered some. Falis was just as stubborn, if not more, than what she gathered this girl was.

"I'll get the most important, and most disturbing, out of the way first. Did you ever ingest any of her blood? I can see that you did fight back; that you didn't just lie there and take it. If you ended up ingesting even the slightest trace, be it from her forcing it on you or through you biting her in self-defense - anything - it changes your situation drastically."

She'd pretty much ruled out vampirism by disease; there would have been evidence at the bite site if that was the case. Since the wounds were healing normally, she was dealing with the magical kind.

Easy enough to answer. "I didn't," Yukari replied simply. She couldn't imagine why Diva would have ever wanted to do something like that, but then again, the same question could be applied to pretty much everything. The possibility was not mulled on for long, though; merely thinking about anyone's blood in her mouth was enough to leave her feeling sick.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject