damned_institute | Day 40: Lunch

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Day 40: Lunch

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

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That had been almost pleasant, Soma admitted to herself. The presence of so many plants had been oddly soothing, and her conversation with Argilla had been somewhat relaxing as well. It was a marked improvement from the day before.

Lunch appeared far too rich for her palate, so she filled her plate with a salad and some fruit instead and sat down with a glass of water under her nurse's watchful eye. Soma tried not to glare at her. It wasn't as if she would go and attack E-0057 now, not with those orderlies present and her reflexes still untested. She'd learned to bide her time.

Taking a bite of the salad, she contented herself with watching the rest of the patients come in. If someone from Celestial Being were here, surely there had to be someone else from her home world as well.

[Free!]

Having effectively skipped eating breakfast, Tony was hungry by lunchtime. He'd kicked a ball around the recreational field nearly all morning. Exercise and sunshine made for a healthy appetite. He took his tray and looked for somewhere to sit. Spotting Kvothe talking to someone and the ice bag in addition to the cast took some of his cheer away, but he knew he'd be able to talk to his friend in their room at dinner.

He arranged his glass and plate on the table and set the tray on a nearby chair. "I don't mean to interrupt, but if I'm going to eat here, we may as well say hello."

Another boy her age, this time one who looked a bit younger than Soma. Clearly a civilian by the sound of it. She hadn't spoken to this many civilians in her entire life. Still, it was nothing to complain about; more allies were precisely what she needed in a place like this.

"I don't mind," she said, unsmiling as ever but not unfriendly. "My name is Soma Peries. What is yours?"

"I'm Tony." It seemed a good idea to avoid the last name for a bit. "Are you dieting?" He hadn't seen so many other young people be so finicky about free food. "I wasn't paying attention to the announcements. What did the girls spend the morning doing?"

Soma blinked at him for a moment. "Dieting? I - no. Why would you think that?" And then, somewhat belatedly, "It's nice to meet you, Tony."

She dug into her salad. "They put us in a greenhouse. It's just down the hall and out the door. I think we were supposed to plant things, but I - " an awkward pause as she tried to think of a way to admit that she was lacking in something without actually doing so - "I've never done that before, so I talked to someone instead."

"The bird food." Tony pointed with his fork.

"I guess that means you'll get the balls and sports equipment this afternoon and we'll get the plants." He seemed almost excited about discovering the pattern.

"Bird food?" Soma looked down at her plate with something resembling confusion on her features. "It's healthy, and I like it. That's more than I can say for the fish."

As if to prove her point, she took a larger bite. She had never been a picky eater - the military hardly left room for that, and cooking had never been one of the colonel's talents - but when faced with a choice between a salad and greasy slabs of fried whatever, it wasn't too difficult to make a decision.

"I guess so." At least she had a relatively good idea of what to do with the sports equipment. Tony seemed excited about it for some reason. "Do you like plants?"

"I used to never get enough to eat, so I like this." He pointed at his fish. "I do," Tony said. "They're alive. Well, I don't like having to study about poisonous ones, but they don't do that here. My sister made me once, though." He ate a few fries then cut up his fish with the side of his fork.

"Oh. Where are you from?"

She nodded as she finished another bite of salad. "I like plants, too. There weren't any where I grew up, though, so I'd never planted any before."

"I don't really know where I'm from," Tony admitted. "My sister and me were left with Granny Malone in a big city. We didn't know she wasn't our grandmother until... just a few months ago when she died."

He didn't know where to look when he was talking about things that were so important so he ate some more fish and thought where to go next. "So the first time I saw a lot of plants was when the orphanage sent us to camp for a week. Tia was very excited. I didn't realize how much... I'd love plants and dirt. I guess now it just reminds me of Tia."

It sounded like Earth, though Soma was beginning to realize that it wasn't something she could assume anymore. He seemed like just a normal boy, albeit an orphan. Was that any different from having no parents at all?

At least, she thought - and she was surprised at herself for thinking it - he had family.

"Tia is your sister, then? I take it she isn't here with you."

"Yeah, Tia's my sister. She's not here, though I can't tell if I'm glad or not. This place is just awful, but I'm worried about her out there on her own. She can't talk like other people." Tony stuffed more fish into his mouth. He didn't like thinking about Tia.

It wasn't an emotion Soma could identify with very well, nor could she think of any words of encouragement.

"I'm sure she'll be all right," she said awkwardly. There. Was that what she was supposed to say?

Tony understood that his gloominess wasn't going to be understood. "I hope she is, but either way I can't do anything about it." He shrugged, trying to pretend he wasn't as worried as he was. He could tell she was uncomfortable with talking to him. "Don't mind me."

The boy's emotions were easy enough to read, clear as they were, and Soma shook her head. She might not have been able to understand entirely, and she might not have knonw what to say, but it didn't mean she didn't care.

"It's only reasonable to worry about your family," she offered. "I would do the same, if I had one."

"Worry yeah, but gloom at everyone else, no... I'm sorry." He ate a bit more. "Where are you from exactly?" He hadn't missed she'd said she had no family. He was trying to figure out if that was a sad thing or not.

"The Human Reform League," offered Soma, hoping against hope that he would recognize the name. Probably not. "You could say eastern Russia - that's where I live now."

The salad was good, even if it was simple; she kept eating as she waited for a response.

Tony thought about that a moment. He was beginning to realize such long pauses was likely to make him seem stupid. He just found it hard talking nicely to people, instead of just ignoring them. He thought he was a friendly person, but he was starting to realize that what he'd thought of as friendly was actually just someone who didn't start fights. He'd stuck to Tia. Other people were hard.

"I've heard of Russia," he finally said. "It's... across an ocean from America, right?" Well, not directly, if the picture in his head was right. He could almost see something. And that surprised him. He frowned suddenly, more serious than sad, and stared hard at the lady. "Keep talking about it please."

Soma didn't mind Tony's periodic silences in the least; she herself was hardly used to normal conversations with anyone other than the Colonel, and she found she rather liked the boy's quiet demeanor.

"Yes, it is." Her description seemed to react with Tony, and she tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing in confusion and a trace of suspicion before she hid both again. Perhaps he had been there before when he was younger, that was all.

What else was there to say about Russia? She'd only really lived there for a few months. "The eastern part of Russia was separated from the west a long time ago. The west became part of the Advanced European Union - that includes France, England, Germany, and their surrounding countries. The east is part of the Human Reform League, which includes India and China. That's where I live with my commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov."

An image of the house rose up, unbidden, for the briefest of moments, neatly cut lawn and polished wooden furniture and photographs lined up over the fireplace, and Soma paused for a moment, caught by surprise by a wave of emotion she thought she'd never feel.

Was this what being homesick was like?

Tony almost held his breath. An image formed inside his mind. He closed his eyes briefly to focus on it better. A house, nothing he'd seen ever before. There wasn't even anything about it to suggest its origins to him, except the timing. His eyes snapped open.

"Did...you live in a house with a lawn?" he asked. That sounded dumb. Most houses had lawns, but he supposed she could have lived in an apartment, like he'd done with Tia and Granny Malone. Or something odder yet. "I can see places sometimes." His voice was hushed, because he wanted this to be real, not his imagination.

"Yes." Soma's eyebrows furrowed together in slight confusion - did most people not live in houses with lawns where he was from? - until Tony explained himself.

Then she leaned forward slightly, faint but unmistakable interest at last registering on her face. Did he have enhanced quantum brain waves, too? She'd never heard of an ability like that occurring with the treatment, but one never knew...

"Could you keep describing it, please?" she asked. "Just to be sure."

Faintly embarrassed now--he seldom talked about his odd gifts--Tony looked down at his hands on the table. But he continued to describe the little he could see. It was still, like a photograph, but he could see more than just the outside. It was a very odd feeling. He was used to seeing places alive and moving, as they were from moment to moment.

"I can see a wall of pictures over a mantle. Are they your family? The lawn is so green, like summer." He didn't want to get too personal, but he burned with curiosity to know if he was right. "The furniture gleams so brightly I can almost smell the polish." But of course, he couldn't really smell it. "A very nice house."

The description was good enough for Soma, even if a quick mental check confirmed that his quantum brainwaves were as normal as those of (almost) everyone else here. Besides, all of the things Tony had described were precisely what she had been thinking of before he spoke.

"They're not my family - they're the colonel's," she said, her voice matter-of-fact. Then her expression softened slightly; his curiosity was clearly readable, and it was just as interesting to learn about abilities other people here might have. "But I think you really are seeing it. Have you always had that ability?"

"Umm... yeah, I have, as long as I can remember. It's usually much better." It was hard talking about this, but Tony had come to understand that more people here were odd than not. He wasn't going to face automatic rejection, though he was wary of being taken advantage of.

"My sister and me were unusual. We didn't fit in anywhere, so we were running away. She can open locks. We can both move things without touching them. Music makes it easier. I can see places, but... since waking up here, I can't even tell the time. The clock's broken." He shivered.

"I've never heard of abilities being influenced by music. Does that work here, too?"

It sounded as if Tony was born with his ability, though it was difficult to tell. Perhaps he didn't remember obtaining his powers...although Soma was beginning to reject that idea. Except for E-0057, nobody else seemed to have enhanced quantum brainwaves, and she was slowly starting to grasp the idea that not all of the patients' abilities were like hers.

"I don't think time works the same here," she said after a moment, looking faintly frustrated at the thought of it. "At least, not at night. The hours are all wrong. And they dulled my abilities, too."

Day 40: Lunch

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