damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

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Day 38: Patients' Library

The intercom rang out, disrupting what had turned out to be a rather pointless breakfast conversation, at least in Brainiac 5's eyes. He couldn't wait to put more distance between himself and Scar's blather of how logic, of all things, might not work the same way in this dimension. It was almost enough to make him believe that the man may very well have been a lion originally after all, as he'd never heard anything so very... ignorant and uneducated.

He quickly finished up the fruit he'd been nibbling on - he was no longer as hungry as he had been - and looked around automatically to see where Clark was. Unfortunately with the press of people around, some being led off to the library and others to the mentioned 'therapy sessions' - if that was what they really were - he had lost sight of the Kryptonian. Still there wasn't many places he could go, so Brainiac 5 would be able to catch up with him eventually to check on his condition and try and learn more about what had happened last night. That the Chapel had healed him - admittedly by passing his injuries to another - was interesting, but far more important in his eyes was what had happened to Clark and his powers. They hadn't been working correctly and that worried the Coluan boy more than he would normally have admitted. Without Clark's abilities... he wasn't sure what they would have to rely on in order to escape.

Another problem he would have to deal with was Grell... or, if he was to believe the notes on the bulletin board, the person pretending to be Grell. But that was going to require more careful planning before he made a move. Come to think of it, he had agreed to meet another in the library today on that same post that had sparked this whole mess. At least then he would have something of interest to look forward to, as he doubted any of the 21st century books were likely to be worthwhile to someone of his advanced intellect.

Following the nurses led him to what must have been the library; a reasonably large room filled with a range of archaic books on tall shelves, a few tables and chairs interspersed around the room. The Coluan boy couldn't refrain from wrinkling his nose in distaste as he entered the room, not liking the cumbersome books and the dust that he knew would have gathered on them; he much preferred the clean arrangement of his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. systems back in the Legion headquarters. It was much more practical then shelves and shelves of books on fictional worlds and dated information.

Trying to avoid as much of the room as possible, Brainiac 5 settled himself down on a chair to wait, keeping an eye out for a tall, dark-haired man with a red... something on his forehead.

[for Homura]

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Wally waved goodbye to Skuld and headed out into Sun Room towards the Library, pausing only long enough for the normal check of the bulletin board before continuing. The intercom announcement about therapy sessions was interesting and a little disturbing. While it made sense that they'd have stuff like that here, he doubted it was as harmless as it sounded. Like the visitors they'd gotten the other day and the not-GL who had come to see him then, nothing in this place was really like it seemed to be. Well, except for maybe the food. Or at least, he hoped the food was okay, 'cause if they had to test that by starving someone... for one thing Tony would have to get a lot better at fighting people off for his dinner.

Skuld had been kinda cool though, even if he wasn't sure what to make of her claims of being a goddess. On one hand he didn't want to believe them, 'cause then what did that mean about how they were keeping people here? But on the other hand he'd seen stranger things, and she was definitely a magic user who had given him a good amount of info on the Cooking Club too. Hopefully it would be something to tell Bats later, when they met up over lunch.

Surprisingly enough the library was pretty much empty except for some kid who looked like this was the last place on Earth he wanted to be, so Wally decided to glance over the shelves instead. "Man, I haven't seen some of these since I was a kid," he said aloud. Selecting a book of fairy tales at random, he threw himself bodily into a nearby chair and flicked it open.

((Iiiiignoring my fail at breakfast! *cough* Also, the boy is free!))

Upon hearing the intercom announcement about therapy, Danny groaned. It wasn't as if he really enjoyed it last time. In fact, Danny didn't really enjoy much of anything the Institute threw at him, much less therapy and visitors.

He headed into the library, the thought of therapy dangling over his head. He was pretty sure that some people didn't go to therapy, at least not last time, so maybe he could avoid it somehow.

He wandered the room, trying to come up with something to preoccupy himself with when he came across a shell of books about ghosts, none of which written by his parents, but that didn't surprise him. They weren't really writers.

But he did find a few books on ghosts that he hadn't seen Sam carrying around before. Ghosts Among Us (http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Among-Us-Uncovering-Truth/dp/0061553395/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231598748&sr=1-6), huh? Danny pulled the book off the shelf and looked at the cover, and then the back. A dimension that most of us cannot see? Yeah, right. If ghosts weren't visibly terrorizing people all the time, maybe. This guy was a joke, but Danny couldn't help himself from reading a few excerpts, an amused smile on his face.

Last shift had offered more information than Renamon thought, but she still wasn't convinced the girl was fine. She walked from the cafeteria, mulling it over, and vaguely wondering if her social skills were better, would it have made a difference?

Stopping by the bulletin board was... interesting, though it put Renamon in more of a drab mood. This day seemed like it would be longer than the ones before it, and she was already in a hurry for it to be over.

...Then it occured to her that she actually didn't schedule any meetings for this shift. Rollling her shoulders in a loose shrug, she padded off towards the library, to explore what it offered her. She slipped inbetween two shelves fluidly.

[Jiraiya-stalker =P]

Breakfast had been excellent, though he hadn't actually spent it with anyone. He'd been moping just slightly over having still not seen hide no hair of his absent roommate, and aside from that he'd been sore as well. Not weak as he'd been in the water, but his neck was still throbbing terrible from teh vampire mermaid's bite. Perhaps it would be better to stay away from that part of teh institute for a while. Just in case. He would have been in trouble had Plasmius not been around.

Not spotting either his roommate (either of them) or Plasmius, Brook simply chose someone at random - there were not many choices anyway - and had a seat across from a young man with black hair. "Good morning to you!" Sore or not, Brook could still have his manners about when he forcibly joined others at breakfast, "Might I join you?" he asked, already seated at the table.

She was going to die. And it was going to be so worth it.

Yuffie couldn’t quite decide what was better; Sagara’s own reaction, or the fact that people had played along. Well, she was assuming that people had played along - there weren’t two Kenshins in the Institute, after all, and two had responded… the real one had probably been the latter to join in. Even if she was wrong, though, who cared? It had been great.

Actually, it had been the most fun she’d had in days. Why the hell hadn’t she thought of doing that sooner? Laughing to herself, the young ninja sauntered into the room and immediately headed for a corner. Libraries were dusty, dull, and boring, but she could always pass the time by building herself a fort or a pyramid.

[Kenshin?]

Edited 2009-01-10 17:33 (UTC)

He didn't notice the man coming up to him until he spoke, and his head jerked up sharply. He shut the book for the moment and slid it a bit to the side so that he could gape properly.

Before him was a giant with an afro. Danny thought he had seen everything, but apparently not. They were both sitting, but this guy was still at least a foot taller than him. Even more if one counted the giant mass of hair.

"Hey," he replied, blinking a few times to try and make it seem like he hadn't actually been staring. "Yeah, sure, I don't have any plans or anything." Danny fell silent for a few moments, wondering whether or not he'd seen this guy before. Surely he would've noticed someone as...quirky as this... "How long have you been here?"

Jiraiya was in a considerably good mood, now that he knew his rather loud student was going to be just fine. Naruto bounced back quickly. And, although Renamon seemed to be aware to some extent that he was a pervert, it hadn't been a deal breaker for their friendship. On top of that, he had a "date" planned tonight--although he had been only kidding about calling it that.

He was going to ask for clarification on where they'd met on the bulletin board when he saw Renamon herself. Well, it'd be much more private to talk to her in person. Even if he risked having her question him about some of the things she had overheard. It was better to get that over as soon as possible, he heard....

Truthfully, he was surprised that she didn't notice him from a distance, but it was probably her curiosity that distracted her. Jiraiya smiled at how fluidly she moved between the shelves. For not being born a human, she had certainly gotten used to her new, rather beautiful, body quickly.

He, too, was curious about the library, truth be told. But unlike her, he just wanted to see if his books were on the shelves. If he saw them, though, he probably wouldn't pick them up--he wouldn't want Renamon to be curious about what was inside his books. Unless she was a closet pervert or just wanted to "study" more about humans. Then it'd be more than fine.

"Hello," Jiraiya greeted her with a wide grin. "Seems like we keep on running into each other."

[=P He's totally not a... okay, yes he is.]

It was pretty difficult not to notice Brook, so the boy must have been distracted if it took him that long to realize that a afro'd beanpole of a man had approached him. Brook didn't mind it though, and glanced up at the books. Reading wasn't exactly his thing as music was much more pleasurable, but he supposed he hadn't much choice here.

"Thank you very much. I'm not very used to places like this, with so many books around! Ah, but I forgot to introduce myself didn't I? My name is Brook! Yohohoho! What might your name be?" he laughed, taking his attention away from the books to look at the boy.

There wasn't a place where a hobo couldn't be more out of his element than a library. Most hobos couldn't even read, and even if they could they had other things to worry about than reading interesting novels. But Tyki was different. He was probably the only hobo to ever walk the planet that actually enjoyed reading a book once in a while.

But he admit, he probably wasn't just your regular neighborhood hobo.

Even if both of his lives were separate, most of the more simple pleasures still overlapped. Smoking, playing cards and even reading books. It just so happened his black side was more suitable for such a thing, but it didn't stop the Noah to keep himself occupied right now.

He looked at the various books on the shelves, actually recognizing some of the titles as something he had read at some point, before finally pulling out 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde.

Good thing his friends weren't here to see him, even though their shocked expressions of seeing the Tyki they knew with a book would be amusing enough. Maybe he should test it when he got home sometime, just to tease them.

[Free!]

"You've never been to a library?" Danny wasn't exactly the most well-read person on the planet, but even he'd been in the library. Heck, even Tucker had been in the library, and he lived off PDA payments and wires.

"I mean. I'm Danny." Yohohoho? What was next, and a bottle of rum?

Now that Brook was looking at him, though, his hand instinctively covered the title of the book in front of him. Danny was used to the fact that this place was full of people with powers, but he'd also heard of people here who were just regular civilians, and if Danny had been some regular person who spotted a kid reading up about ghosts, he would've been curious as to why.

"Hm, I may've been a long time ago, but not recently! And I much prefer music to reading! Yohohoho!" A bottle of rum would have been nice, but no, it would not be following Brook's odd laughter. "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Danny. What might you be reading? Is it any good? Yohoho! I need to pick something out since it seems to be what they want us to do here!"

He wasn't prying to be nosy, he was just curious. If Danny knew more about books, then why wouldn't Brook want his advice on what was a good read?

The transition between night and day was even more jarring today than usual. One minute, Kenshin had been scrambling up rocks in the bitter cold, and the next he was waking up safe in a warm bed. Because of that, it had taken him a little bit longer to get out of bed than usual. By the time he got to the cafeteria, breakfast was just about over...but not before the rurouni spotted 'Sano's' message on the board, complete with responses from himself. Bemused, he allowed his nurse to conduct him to the library. Where he found Yuffie.

"Congratulations on your upcoming engagement," he said mildy, raising an eyebrow. It's too bad, really, that Sanosuke doesn't seem to realize that he's set to propose in a couple of hours." He smiled at her, figuring that there were only a few people who would (and could) pull a prank like that, and she topped the list.

Yuffie had been adding the twentieth book to her steadily growing fort when she heard footsteps. She glanced up quickly, hair flopping haphazardly over her eyes at the movement, not quite sure who was approaching -- it wouldn’t be Sagara, would it? He’d be yelling already! He wasn’t the type to play nice then go in for the kill, so -- Oh.

Kenshin.

The real one.

At his words, Yuffie dropped the book as though it was a hot coal. “Engagement?!” She yelped. “Wha-- Wh… Sanosuke? Y’mean, Sagara? What?” Her surprise appeared genuine, as did her horror. Eyes wide, she scrambled to her feet - clumsily, almost tripping over her budding creation-in-the-making. “What’re you talking about? I’m not getting engaged! That’d totally cramp my style!” She had no idea whether or not he’d actually believe that she was innocent, but she was nothing if not a great ninja, and, therefore, a great actor.

Besides. She wasn’t really lying, was she? Sure, she was pretending she didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but it was true that she wasn’t getting engaged!

In retrospect, Tony should have known better than to expect much from a patient library in a mental institution. The sort of reading he preferred, heavy on facts, schematics, and breakthroughs discussed in words no less than four syllables was likely the sort of reading considered too strenuous for the fragile minds of lunatics. Or it was considered the sort of reading that would give them ideas. Even so, he was a little disappointed to find little but fiction, and most of it old.

At least the conversation he'd had with Steve over breakfast had given him something to think about, even if most of it was disconcerting at the very best. It had given him something to do, as well, and he judged the library a good enough place to start copying over the map as any. It hadn't been too much trouble to beg a chance to retrieve his journal from his desk; the library was as good a place to write as it was to read.

For the sake of appearances, and in case he finished his copying over in good time, he plucked a copy of The Man in the Iron Mask up from a bookshelf before finding himself a reasonably comfortable spot at a table. It wasn't his usual fare, but the private, somewhat juvenile amusement of the title made up for that.

Falis had been just about to pounce on that Fai guy and talk to him about vampires when he was carried off by the vultures to whatever the hell this therapy shit was. With an annoyed sigh, she found herself herded by her own vulture into a room saying something about getting culture or some shit like that; she wasn't really paying attention.

Books.

The princess looked around the room and glowered at the stacks of books. It was kinda small compared to the royal library back in her castle, but she never was one for reading. It was... boring. All you did was sit and turn pages, reading about things that weren't real or no longer exist. The only reason she'd read so many Old World books was because Dominikov kinda made her and she did have an actual reason since magic was all Old World shit anyways.

She grabbed a random book off a shelf just so her particular vulture would be satisfied that she was getting this culture shit and found a cushy chair to sit in. She flopped sideways in it, legs hanging over one side and the long mane of blonde hair over the other. With the book open in her lap as a cover for the nurses, Falis took her journal out and started sketching those Persona-things she'd seen last night.

[free!]

Kvothe still wasn't thrilled with the meagre selection in the library, but at least sitting around and reading wouldn't put any strain on his injured and still sore shoulders and hand. He wondered for a minute if he should have taken the painkillers the nurse had offered him, but it wasn't the first time he'd gone without and he wasn't sure that he trusted any 'medicine' the Institute might give. So, after wandering aimlessly through the shelves for a few minutes he picked up a book at random, found a chair, and was soon almost completely absorbed in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not so absorbed that he wouldn't notice someone coming up to him, though.

[free]

[Mind a lion? 8D]

Before Scar could even so much as reply to that insolent brat, the nurses already insisted on escorting them to another area. He held back a growl as he entered the cafeteria, but instead of approaching Brianiac 5 to continue their 'discussion' he headed for one of the shelves.

Once there, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Of course, he had figured by now that the symbols drawn within them told a story, but Scar simply wasn't interested in little tales right now. Regardless, thanks to his nurse he found himself holding one of these books a little awkwardly before finding a spot to seat himself on the floor. It just so happened he had picked a spot close to a somewhat familiar face.

"Princess Alita, was it?"

Kenshin's smile only widened as he watched Yuffie's performance, chuckling. It was an admirable attempt, but he wasn't at all convinced. "Oh, well then, this one must be mistaken. He was under the impression that there were two Sanos on the bulletin board, and two Himura Kenshins, because the one that responded was not actually this one. It was all very confusing."

He grinned. "It was a pretty good trick, though. Very amusing."

Last time he'd been in the library, the Doctor hadn't gotten to do much reading thanks to Donna. He wasn't in the mood to read as much as he'd been the other day, but he plucked the copy of Gulliver's Travels off the shelves regardless. He found a chair next, settling down to read.

If someone decided to join him, maybe he could have a nice chat. If not, at least he'd have Lemuel.

[Oh Miss Grell~!]

Ayumu might not have learned too much from her conversation with Badou, apart from the fact that the redhead was a somewhat unusual sort, but it was still a relatively pleasant conversation nonetheless. She'd wanted to go find Robin and speak to him once breakfast was over, but the nurse who came to herd her to the next shift's activities insisted that they needed to go straight there.

It was best to just cooperate for the time being, since otherwise would be entirely out of character for Sen, so she just allowed herself to be led to the library. At least she'd managed to catch a glimpse of Okita on her way out and assured herself that he was still around, though she wasn't close enough to see if he'd managed to get injured again - or if he was eating breakfast.

Once in the library she looked around with eyes wide for a moment before moving over to one of the shelves with a hesitant attitude, deliberately choosing a spot that would allow her to watch the door and remain visible for anyone who might be looking for her. She leaned in toward the shelf, tracing a finger along the spines of the books as she murmured the titles to herself under her breath, as though finding reading rather difficult.

[for Matt]

Hanyuu had never been one for reading much, mostly because she hadn't really had an opportunity before her arrival in this world, but she was becoming rather fond of the hospital's library. Of course, that may have simply been a reflection of her good mood, but she still found the room to be somewhat relaxing. Moving back and forth in front of the shelves, she looked at the various titles, trying to find one that sounded interesting. In truth, some of the books sounded a little scary and the spirit was determined to stay away from those ones, even if they were merely made up stories.

After looking over the choices, Hanyuu finally selected a collection of short stories. The book in hand, she then found a chair and settled in comfortably to begin reading. If the stories were nice, maybe she could tell Rika about it and they could read together next time.

It felt like it'd been awhile since he'd last visited the library. Not that he didn't already have the book Dr. Sohma had lent him, but it was probably good to keep checking through the other books in here. There was no telling when he might stumble across something useful or interesting, right? Especially with the way Earthlings were remembering their own history differently. He just didn't understand it...

As he ran his finger along the book spines lined along the shelves, he was quickly reminded of the distinct lack of non-fiction in here. Claude inwardly sighed. He guessed if they were trying to keep him in the dark, they wouldn't slip up in the library, of all things. It was the most obvious place for people to come dig up information, after all.

That didn't stop him from trying, though. He slowly made his way down the aisle as he gazed at all the titles, his eyebrows faintly furrowed.

[For one Dias Flac.]

Crap. He wasn’t falling for it!

Yuffie wasn’t beaten yet, though. “I haven’t even looked at the bulletin board today!” she protested, gesturing dismissively with one hand. “If it is a trick, it’s not one of mine. I mean, come on, Kenshin! Are you crazy?“ It was so, so hard to hide the flash of smug pride that she felt at the compliment - it had been a good trick, hadn’t it? Ha!

Kenshin didn’t seem annoyed at all, but Yuffie couldn’t quell the urge to keep acting. She dropped abruptly, legs folding under her, and sat sprawled on the floor. She huffed out a long breath, affecting a look of almost petulant confusion. “Why would I wanna pretend that Sagara was gonna propose to me?”

Thinking of Tia, Tony pulled a book off the shelf and found a seat. There was a girl sitting nearby who seemed quite absorbed in her selection. He read a few pages, but his eyes tired quickly since he'd read so much last night in the medical text.

So he cleared his throat before asking her, "Do you like that book, miss?"

[S'ok?]

[Free as the Decepticons fight to be from the yoke of Autobot oppression!]

Blitzwing had finally stopped pestering him about eating, much to Lugnut's relief, and he allowed the nurse to herd him to a new room, filled with what appeared to be primitive non-digital data-pads stacked in shelving units. Doubtless filled with human entertainment, and of no interest to Lugnut.

Ignoring his nurse's urging to read something, he sat in a chair, wounded legs already aching from the short trip and that irritating pain in his lower torso becoming more intrusive. Horrible defective organic body... he would have to conserve energy for tonight.

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Day 38: Patients' Library

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