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]

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... Standing guard. Standing guard? That wasn't-- Lelouch couldn't possibly seem that incapable of defending himself, could he? Yes, he might have grown a little too relaxed earlier even with his thoughts running a mile a minute, but he hadn't been asleep and it wasn't like he couldn't--

He inhaled sharply, snapping his arms downwards and out of the suddenly painful angle they'd reached and clutching at them as the wounds on his shoulders burned. He'd almost forgotten-- god, it hurt. He hunched over in his seat while trying very hard not to, conscious of the stupid, self-appointed guard and whatever questions might be forming in that thick head of his because of this. Damn it, he should have stayed still!

"I don't need a guard," he muttered, his breathing still noticeably uneven despite his best efforts to control it. "Go-- stand somewhere else."

Huh, there were more now. Where did they come from? Mori looked up at the trees around them and then back down at the rapidly growing circle of sparrows going after the muffin crumbs. Watching as the little birds started to gather around him, he crumbled a bit more of the muffin and dropped the crumbs for them.

But a sharp breath behind him pulled him away from his growing menagerie and Mori turned to look at the stranger, brows knitting together. It seemed like the guy was hurt, which would definitely mean he needed a guard if he was going to sleep out here.

Moving over to Lelouch and leaving the birds behind for now, he leaned over and visually checked him over. Wounds in the shoulders. He had been able to move earlier without them giving him this much pain, meaning they weren't 'new,' but that they were still fresh. Straightening, Mori stepped back and looked down when he felt something hit his foot. The birds wanted more food.

"Won't bother you, just watching out while you're resting." With that he went back to feeding the birds, watching as the one on his foot moved off to eat.

Lelouch tensed when the guy moved closer, but as imposing as he was, it was hard to perceive anything overtly threatening about the action. It probably had something to do with the fact that he had just been feeding the park's sparrows with muffin crumbs, of all things, but as he pulled away again-- hm. Perhaps he wasn't a threat after all?

Lelouch took a deep breath and straightened, too, pulling his right hand away from the position on his left shoulder it had crept up to and resting it on his lap instead. "I wasn't-- nevermind," he sighed, frowning a little as he looked away from the stranger and to the sparrows gathered at his feet.

There were a lot of things he could think of to ask then-- why this person had considered himself guard material in the first place or why hadn't he at least asked permission first, to name a few-- but the one that eventually won out ended up being the simplest. "Do you have a name?"

"Mori." And there was the sparrow on his foot again. That made it difficult to move, but he couldn't exactly shove it off. That would be mean and it seemed like it was getting comfortable for some reason. Maybe the commoner sneakers he'd been given were comfortable for birds? He'd have to try to give one to Piyo-chan someday and see if she liked it.

Somehow Mori didn't think the bird would fit though. She was getting bigger by the day and the sparrow was pretty tiny. Even if his shoes were big for a Japanese person, that didn't mean a chick was going to be able to sit on them.

Looking up from the bird, Mori turned slightly so he could see the stranger a little better. It was rude not to look at someone while speaking, after all. "You?"

... Suddenly, Mori's shirt was making a lot more sense.

"Lelouch," he replied, smiling just the tiniest bit. Mori's taciturn nature was going to make it difficult to learn more about him, but now that his curiosity had been piqued, Lelouch wasn't going to let that stop him. He did have other things he had to get to later on in the trip and he doubted that Mori would be useful or otherwise interesting enough to warrant this attention, but as far as temporary distractions went, it would do for now.

Something else clicked into place soon after that, though, and blinking in realization, Lelouch added, "Would the 'Mori' happen to be short for 'Morinozuka Takashi,' second-in-command of the Cake Club?" He hadn't guessed that he would be this tall, but the rest of the description seemed to fit.

Lelouch. Mori bowed his head and caught sight of the bird again. Now there were two on his foot. That was a little inconvenient, but well, they both looked comfortable, so it wasn't a big loss. Although, it looked like they were sleeping, which could be bad. Mori dropped a few more crumbs from the muffin and both birds hopped off, chasing after them along with the rest of their miniature flock.

As for whether he was second-in-command of the Cake Club, that was a definite yes, so Mori nodded. It was weird to be called second-in-command of anything though. He mostly just stuck with Mitsukuni and did what he was doing, or protected who needed protecting. While he could cook, he left that to more skilled people like Willy Wonka and Anise. So he supposed his role was more of a...landmark? He was pretty easy to spot, he guessed. "Call me Mori."

... Well, at least he'd confirmed Mori's identity. It hardly mattered when Lelouch had little to no interest in the Cake Club and couldn't see that changing anytime soon, but it was something.

It seemed like learning anything else about the man would have to wait until Lelouch had met Honey, though. Mori didn't seem inclined to say anything more than what was absolutely necessary to answer his questions, and with his attention apparently fixed almost entirely on those sparrows...

Lelouch frowned slightly, but eventually he shook his head and sighed, rising to his feet and taking one last look around before glancing to Mori again. "I should be going," he said-- unnecessarily, probably, but even if Mori didn't care, it would be good to try to stay on positive terms with the minor clubs. "I'll see you around, Mori."

Dayshift 42: Morning - Magus Park

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