damned_institute | Dayshift 42: Morning

Senna stepped off the bus to wind blowing through the clothes she was given. A sad face at one of the nurses allowed her a long red scarf as well, and once she had draped it around her neck and let it hang down her back, she had trotted off.

The park she had saw last time seemed a good place to be on the look-out for the chicks from last night. It was close to the buses, and a big enough place that if they remembered that they had a race date, it would suit its purpose. The girl ran to a place in the middle of the field and waited there, shifting her weight from side to side. After a while, this wasn't enough, and Senna traded back and forth between jogging in place and acrobatics--the easy flips and cartwheels keeping her warm.

Her mind had changed in the night before. She had gotten a taste of what leadership entailed, and she wasn't sure she had rose to the occasion or not. She knew she had tried her best, and had been willing to give as much as she had, but it hadn't been enough. She knew this. Hokuto, at least, had gotten hurt, and in the end, they still hadn't explored more than the schoolhouse. They really needed a different approach with that place.

She went back and forth internally, body going through the motions and reflexes of her movements.

[for... Falis, Hokuto, Meche, and Soma?--and down to here]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Got a minute for your errand boy?]

The nurse had slipped him a thick green hoodie as he wandered off the bus, briskly apologizing for grabbing the wrong size. He grimaced when it fell past the seat of his jeans and swallowed his arms whole. God, could he look any more like a dork? No doubt he looked as tiny as 'Hannah' did (he was only going to mangle her real name if he tried). The nurse frowned at the sight, but handed him a small packet of coupons regardless and shooed him off into town.

Maybe another time, Peter would have marveled at a town where the biggest building was only two or three stories high, but now that he wasn't talking with Hannah he just felt...empty.

He pushed the sleeve cuffs up to his wrists and rifled through the coupons, but found nothing of interest and stuffed them into his pocket. Took a quick peak inside his brown paper bag and quickly closed that too. His stomach had been calling mutiny for the past few days, coasting on a bite or two of fish dinner and suffering for it all the while. He just felt too sick to eat.

Though the rumble was getting so hard to ignore. He started moving to distract himself from the painful growl, ignoring the tiny shops and parlors that lined the tiny streets (barely any stoplights, god that was so weird), practically blind to anyone who passed. It wasn't until he hit the park that he saw a familiar face.

He watched Brainiac 5 from a distance as the nurse wheeled him to an open spot and abandoned him there. The guy probably wanted to be alone right now, but that was a little...yeah. Kinda sad. The wheelchair really wasn't helping him look any less dejected.

Peter remained still for a while longer, toying with options before thinking Screw it and making his way over. No point in putting off apologizing. Better get it over with now rather than have him stewing over it the whole day. Hopefully he wasn't that mad. Peter would have been.

He stopped a few feet away, greeting the other boy with a weak smile. That was still a peace offering in the thirty-first century, right? The awkward please-don't-hit-me grin? Everybody used it, even if it never worked.

"So I guess I owe you an apology."

As he'd expected, it hadn't been long at all before someone approached, but when he saw who it was, Brainiac 5 doubted that his nurse had been the one to cause this meeting. Peter looked nearly as upset as he had the night before, and he found himself hoping that the other boy wouldn't try to hug him again, even if that had been largely due to Peter's emotional unbalance at the time. While he could understand the motivation behind the action, that didn't mean he was comfortable with it.

The overly large hoodie got a raised eyebrow, but no further comment from him. Brainiac 5 didn't doubt he looked equally odd with his own thick jacket. And besides, what Peter said was more unusual.

"An apology? What for?" he asked curiously.

Peter blinked. "For locking you in last night," he said, bewildered. He was expected a bit more death glaring, to be honest. Did he just forget or something? Mary Jane would have been pitching a fit. Aunt May, too, come to think of it. "You're not mad?"

"Of course not," Brainiac 5 answered patiently. "Considering the situation, you actions were entirely logical."

He settled back into his seat a little before continuing. "I was injured and tired and you were concerned about my wellbeing." For reasons he was still somewhat unclear on but that didn't change the fact. "Not to mention there was little else I could do for the night. If locking the door helped with your peace of mind, then it makes sense you would take that action."

"Oh."

Well, that was the most reasonable thing he'd ever heard. Nobody thought like that. Ever. It was kind of bizarre.

And now it meant he had no reason to be over here. Things were awkward enough with Clark and Harry dying in the same night, and that was...well, he wasn't in the mood for it. Brainy wasn't either. You didn't have to be a genius to see that.

"Okay, well I just...wanted to apologize." He shrugged, glancing around uncomfortably. "See you at dinner, then?"

"Even if I didn't want to see you tonight, I wouldn't have much other choice would I?" Brainiac 5 remarked dryly, though the smile showed he was only joking.

Peter was behaving oddly, but considering these past few nights, that was hardly unexpected. No doubt they'd cover the matter further over dinner.

"I'll see you then," he said. Then remembering what he had discussed with Kagura earlier, Brainiac 5 added, "oh, and Peter? Should you happen to obtain anything... interesting, would you consider discussing it with me tonight as well? I'm not exactly able to look into such things myself."

Peter blinked again. A joke. An honest to god joke from Mr. Roboto himself. Suddenly his smile became a lot less weak and a lot more genuine.

"What, like a manicure?" Peter replied, quirking an eyebrow. "Maybe they can file my nails to a point. I could scratch things to death and look fabulous at the same time." He turned to walk away, giving Brainy a small wave goodbye before stuffing his free hand into his pocket. "If I find anything, I'll let you know."

[To here.]

Dayshift 42: Morning - Magus Park

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject