damned_institute | 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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Celes had her own quirks, ones that she wasn't so keen to show in public. She had made herself a circlet of roses (carefully denuding the stems, well checked for aphids) and managed to keep her face serene and unaffected as she strode through the cafeteria. The other patients could take a long walk off a short cliff; she had roses for once. It was nice to take a reprieve from thinking on heavy subjects that she certainly would have to consider the next shift.

Even more worrying was how Hughes had not said a single word through the bulletin, nor had she seen him at the morning meal. Celes sat down with her tray and rested her chin in her hand. Thinking negatively would get her nowhere, so she had to think logically. But, in that case, Hughes was sleeping in far too late.

[Free to good home, doesn't bite hard.]

If he had been anyone else, Kenshin would not have been able to facepalm while carrying a large tray of food. As it was, he only barely avoided upsetting his plate and sending the whole mess of fried fish and oily potato to the floor. Luckily, his finely-honed reflexes kicked in and saved his lunch from its ignoble fate.

He couldn't let himself be distracted from the matter at hand. Why, exactly, was Yuffie standing on a table and shouting her head off? It wasn't that Kenshin didn't appreciate the sentiment, but he wished she'd do it less...publicly. She'd drawn far too much attention to herself as it was, and now the nurses were starting to circle like peppy, scrubs-clad sharks. The rurouni toyed with the idea of stepping in to save her, but decided against it. It had been her choice to hop up on that table, and he'd learned long ago not to interfere with dumb decision so long as they didn't lead to anyone getting hurt. He'd even gone along with Sano's harebrained scheme for--

Sano. Kenshin stopped, looking off into nothing. Sano was gone, and Yahiko was still missing. He'd probably disappeared too. Kenshin tried to tell himself that it was for the best, that at least they weren't immediately in harm's way anymore, but he couldn't. His friends had been taken by this place, and he was absolutely powerless to get them back.

Sighing, the rurouni shook himself and walked towards the first empty seat he could find. He would just have to keep on fighting. That was the only way.

Celes was still thinking about Hughes when another person sat down beside her. Apparently, she was to have company for this meal, after all. "Good after noon," she greeted the young man politely, inclining her head carefully so she didn't upset the circlet.

Of course, now she was feeling the tiniest bit foolish for wearing the roses in her hair in the first place.

Kenshin looked up at his new companion, smiling. No matter what was troubling him in his life, he had to keep smiling. There were people still here who relied on that. "Good afternoon," he replied brightly, taking in the girl's flower wreath. It seemed so delightfully out of place among the sterile, clinical whites and grays of the Institute. Just another reminder that life did actually continue outside of these walls.

The self-proclaimed "Flower of Wutai" was continuing with her speech in spite of (or maybe to spite) the circle of nurses and orderlies closing in on her. He expected a needle to be produced any minute now. Hopefully the sedatives wouldn't hit her too hard.

Turning back to the girl he was sitting with, he added, "How has your morning been? Not too difficult, this one hopes."

Celes smiled, pleased with his polite demeanor. "Not at all, it was quite enjoyable. As you can see, I..." Celes touched the circlet with a nearly embarrassed tilt of her head. "...managed to find something to occupy my time with. I hope that your morning has been as easy." He seemed the easy sort to get along with, and that was something the former general appreciated.

Celes looked at the girl loudly proclaiming foolishness and shook her head. "It's no wonder why we can't do anything without attracting such attention. I suppose this means they'll be putting an extra guard on the rest of the activities, after they sedate her." She turned back to Kenshin and let her lips thin into a exasperated line. "My name is Celes Chere."

Kenshin beamed at her. "Yes, it has. In fact, this one somehow managed to sleep through the entire morning shift!" He shook his head, and his smile faded slightly, became more pensive. "It's so strange that the days here--while incredibly tedious--can be so peaceful. It almost makes the nights seem even worse by comparison."

He sighed, watching Yuffie's performance a little longer. He could understand why this young woman would disapprove of the way he was acting, but he felt strangely protective of her as well. He wanted to stick up for her a little, at least. "She's a friend of this one's," he admitted, "and this sort of behavior is very much in her nature. Frankly, this one's a bit surprised that she hasn't acted out like this earlier. Still, at least it helps break up the monotony a bit?" That she couldn't disagree with.

Kenshin bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Celes-dono. This one is called Himura Kenshin."

"The same," Celes replied cordially, carefully cutting her fish into bites more palatable. "I agree, Mr Kenshin, though I've been rather lucky in my time here to encounter few creatures." It didn't make the place more genial, of course, but it did make her significantly luckier than most.

"She reminds me of someone," Celes admitted. "But I can't place a finger on who it is. Still, you're right; I suppose we need a bit of excitement during the day to keep us on our toes for evening." It seemed like people enjoyed using their troubles during the day as fuel for the battles at night, anyway. Celes cast an eye about the cafeteria, but was unrewarded with a glimpse of Hughes.

He is sleeping, he is resting, there is little to worry about, she told herself. Asking the nurses wouldn't be much of an option - Hughes never did tell her what the Institute had called him, and she doubted greatly that they would tell her little more than a bald-faced lie.

Day 40: Lunch

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