damned_institute | Day 22: Brunch

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Day 22: Brunch

Cid usually liked sleeping in, especially in a place as messed up and uninviting as this, but this happened to be one situation where he really wished he hadn't.

Right there, on the bulletin board. The Head Doctor and he'd fucking missed it? Some part of him wished he'd been there to take his eye out and another part of him knew he wouldn't have been able to. No man that powerful who hid for so long went to dangerous places without some kind of entourage.

Brunch sounded like it'd be filling, at least, though he nearly stopped in his tracks when the bastard announced TEA. TEA. It'd been a damn long while since he'd had some fucking tea, though with all the stress this place had found fit to rain down on his fucking head, it hadn't really been the first priority on his mind. Kinda nice, even if Cid was sure this was just some game the mother fucker was playing to get them all stuck neck-deep in Stockholm Syndrome.

He scanned the mostly-empty room for any sign of a familiar face once he'd piled waffles and sausages and syrup on his plate, though the person he really wanted to talk to was that Reynolds guy. "Spaceship" was the last word he remembered clearly before waking up in his bed, and dammit if he wasn't going to keep it stuck like glue in his mind.

He found a table where he could watch people come into the cafeteria and grabbed for his mug. The steam rising from his drink and the bag of herbs in it was nearly enough to make him grin despite it all, and it was with marked leisure and a little relief that he drank his goddamn tea.

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So she was an untrained mind-mage. That didn't bode well, as far as Valyn was concerned. He didn't particularly mind having his thoughts read - ancestors knew Shadow had been in there dozens of time, and Shana as well. But... there was a certain etiquette to be observed, that was all.

"Please," he said, his voice somewhat soft. "Just call me Valyn. I'm afraid I don't have much claim to my House title right now." He pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to sort through what she'd said. He wasn't dead. He was in some strange place with only humans, uncollared and apparently that had never seen an Elven Lord before. He was speaking with a girl who made about as much sense as his own mother, and she was an untrained mind-mage.

He had honestly thought his life had reached its most bizarre peak back when he fled Triana's. Clearly, he'd been quite wrong.

"Landels? I don't know what that means. And who's the doctor? Why can't we sleep? I'm afraid I can't quite understand what you're trying to tell me. But I do appreciate it."

"The one who speaks in all of our ears." Deciding to be thoughtful and indicate her meaning directly, River pointed at the intercom speaker. "He calls us and herds us like sheep. And sometimes-"

River covered her mouth with her hand, suddenly recoiling so violently that she almost fell back. It was always lurking, always waiting to pounce upon unsuspecting prey. He was in her head now, and it didn't seem as though he planned on leaving.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she muttered, gripping the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Her eyes were watery, darting all around the room before focusing on Valyn again. They pleaded with him.

"I don't ever make any sense. I don't. I'm sorry."

Valyn followed where she pointed, looking at the strange box on the wall. It wasn't anything he was familiar with.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what that is." He shook his head softly.

"It's alright. Here, have a drink of something, maybe you'll feel better." He doubted he was going to get anything out of this girl, unless he had some brilliant epiphany. Perhaps someone she knew would join them? Someone who spoke in a way that Valyn could understand. But he truly hadn't meant to distress her.

"Can you tell me how you came to be here? Were you born in this place, or somewhere else?"

"None of us are from here."

Dias, being as socially stunted as he was, didn't much care if he was interrupting. ~~He cared when it was Lust and Scar, but only because they were his friends and talked about exceedingly uncomfortable things to overhear.~~ He wouldn't have cared even if River hadn't looked distressed, even if he hadn't felt compelled to check on her after her outburst at the damned head doctor and now when she still seemed upset.

Anyway, the freedom to sit where he wanted was one of the few granted to him by the institute and he intended to make use of it.

He sat down beside River, setting down a ~~distinctly overloaded~~ tray before moving his one good hand to rest over one of River's, gently trying to pry it off the table. There was no particular reason for his doing so; it was as instinctual as blinking.

"None of us belong here," he said in the direction of the other man, whoever he was, even as he tried to get River's hands to relax their death grip. He might not feel guilty about interrupting but answering the man's questions would make guilt a complete non-issue. "Everyone here has been dragged from their own world and imprisoned in this place. During the day they pretend it's an asylum and that we're locked away for our own good, but at night you see something more like the truth."

Lost in thought, Ashton was led from the chapel to the cafeteria.

The swordsman still wasn’t sure whether he was alone or not. Perhaps there were many others around him in his exact situation, so he had sympathy from all sides.. but his definition of that word – ‘alone’ – was quite different from the normal person’s. ‘Alone’ was a thing of the past (and now, apparently, of the future.) ‘Alone’ was a concept that disappeared when he was possessed by Gyoro and Ururun, who he wasn’t even sure if he was glad were gone or not.. ~~but if he really was glad the guilt just might eat him alive.~~ If he just had closure, he’d be better, he kept telling himself.

But, ah, he’d just have to live with it. That was what Ashton did, what he had always been used to, what he’d always do. Eat from the plate he’d been handed.

Speaking of eating: The Intercom had mentioned hamburgers. Joy! Immediately he traveled to the buffet and proceeded to pile three hamburgers on top of one another, creating a tower of sorts that amused him for a time while he piled up the rest of his plate. He laughed to himself, as he was given to do.

So he looked around for the silver-blue hair that had become so familiar in his recent battles, and spotted him sitting at a table with two others. He almost felt like he was meeting someone he hadn’t spoken to in years, although in truth, by his reckoning, he’d only been away from the man for less than a few hours. And the thought made him feel unnecessarily excited. It’s just because he’s not the Dias I know, I suppose.

Approaching the table, he caught a bit of their conversation and was relieved to hear the topic, but he didn’t feel like he had anything to add just yet. “Um.” With his tower of burgers, sat down next to Dias after glancing at the other two with a ridiculous (but nervous) grin. “Um. Hi.”

River stared at the drink that was offered like it were a glass of poison, thoughts racing and wildly distorting everything that could be naturally perceived. And then some. It was invading, all of it at once, and she was falling. She was always falling in this place.

A tall, comforting presence made its way into the chaos, firm but gentle at the same time. It was a focal point where the others had been lost in the storm. River closed her eyes, feeling a hand on hers as she concentrated on the single point. It was a brother, and this was exactly why.

Her grip loosened on the table, and she slumped to the side, leaning against Dias as caught the breath that had run away from her. He was much better at explaining than she was. She'd gotten better; the doctor had made her worse.

"What he said," River managed to mumble sheepishly, burying her face in Dias' shoulder and only piping up when Ashton arrived. Clearly unable to see him, she announced just as he opened his mouth,

"Your friend is here, brother."

"And what is the truth?" Valyn asked, his eyes moving from the tall man with the unnatural hair and eyes and the man with the rather idiotic smile. Both of them human. Were they mind-mages as well? The first man, the one who seemed to know the girl, looked like no other human Valyn had ever seen.

"Forgive me, I've forgotten my manners." Another smile. He was going through the motions, as he did whenever he was trotted out in front of the High Lords, polite and well bred. "I'm... Valyn." There was no need, he decided, for all the titles and honorifics. What did these people know of Elven Lords? Unless....

Neither one of them had seemed surprised or unnerved by Valyn. Nor were they trying to tell him that he didn't exist. But still, even if they were familiar with the Elven Lords, the house of Hernalth wasn't one Valyn particularly wanted to be linked to.

"I do appreciate whatever you can tell me about this place. It's unlike anywhere I've ever seen before."

It was fortunate that Dias' good shoulder was closest to River. The instincts of an older brother took over once again, and he brought up his good hand to rest on her back as she leaned on him. If this looked odd to anyone - which it probably did - Dias apparently didn't care.

"Ashton." Dias nodded at his friend's (?) arrival and hesitant greeting. It was a decidedly odd feeling; Ashton had, apparently, known and fought beside a Dias for months, whereas Dias himself had only met Ashton distantly on two occasions and barely knew the man at all. He was, in fact, meeting a friend whom he'd only just met. "I'm...sorry I don't remember you much."

"My name is Dias," he said simply, finally turning back to the blond man, whoever he was. "And the truth is what I told you. It's an asylum. None of the patients seem to be genuinely crazy, and we've all been pulled from our own worlds and are being held here against our will - all our personal effects taken, all our powers...such as they are...weakened considerably. Don't believe anything the staff tells you, especially the Head Doctor, because the whole place is a lie. At night, patients can roam as far as they can manage to get - not that escape is easy, since the layout of the building changes randomly. I've woken up in a different room than I was in the night before. And the monsters that come out and maul anything they can catch just make things more difficult." Dias nodded at his arm in its sling. "During the day, things are normal and the staff act like they've got no idea anything strange happens during the night. You'll get proof soon enough if you don't believe me."

Dias hoped Ashton had caught all that. He wasn't going to repeat it.

Ashton didn't look twice at Valyn. Though the elf's ears were pointier than Expellians', and would be enough to seriously weird some people out, on Nede he had seen nothing but long ears - in fact, on that planet his own short ears (not to mention the dragons protruding from his back) had made him somewhat of a novelty. River, on the other hand, was an odd bird, and how she knew that he was Dias' 'friend' before he said anything was just incredibly weird. He had seen weirder things in his time, but everything around him was new anyway. Would there be an explanation? Did it matter? Ashton had the tendency nowadays to accept everything odd at face value. He had grown so used to new things, he didn't question them as much as he should.

Instead, he focused all of his attention on the injured man sitting next to him. Ashton wasn't sure whether he had ever heard Dias say so much in such a short time, but he sat and listened to the man's low voice, content to hear a remnant of his old life, even if this was not the same man. Dias had the same idea of the place that he had heard from Junior, which confirmed Ashton's fears.

And he was going to be forced to deal with Dias' utter lack of intimacy all over again. Well, first things first. "Dias.." he started. "It's all right, you don't have to remember me. I.." Why was this difficult? "You'll remember me from now on, okay?"

He started on his fabulous-tasting burger. The Food God and Prince of Darkness Yarma would approve, he thought. "So who's your little sister?" he asked Dias, gesturing to the girl at Dias' arm. (He obviously knew about their shared love for 'little sister' figures. How much did he know? ~~How much had Rena told him?~~)

"Also," River piped up again, a small, child-like grin spreading across her lips as she peeked up from Dias' shoulder, "the food isn't drugged." Though it would seem to be little more than a joke, the reality of it was that such information was probably more vital than most people might think. "If it were, Dias would've been incapacitated for weeks by now." Of course, that little comment was clearly meant as little more than a bratty jab about the amount of food he was eating by a mischievous, little sister. Now that they were established as brother and sister, Dias would just have to take the bad with the good. At least she wasn't dumping pudding in his hair yet. Poor Simon.

"River. It's appropriate," the girl spoke up, lifting her head a touch more and fixing Ashton with a relatively satisfied expression. She turned to Valyn. "The Lord wished to know as well. If you need a bodyguard, I'm available. Just ask Dias. I've been taking care of him since I got here." Such a brat. Simon would probably sympathize with Dias at this point.

Valyn listened to everything Dias - what an odd name! - was saying with a perfectly blank expression. The moving rooms didn't bother him - his father would change the layout of the manor on a whim, after all - but creatures coming out at night....

At least he hadn't burnt himself out. At least if this strange man was to believed. He could only assume the powers that were referred to were magic. It would explain why his own powers were so depleted, at least.

The idea that he was even willing to believe all of this said volumes. It was madness. Absolute and complete madness. If he weren't so certain his father was....

Was what? Valyn's expression didn't change, but worry was beginning to grip him. He knew his father was cruel and sadistically creative when it came to punishment. And he certainly had enough power to set something like this up. If he had enlisted that harlot Triana's help as well.... But would he truly be willing to risk a mind-mage on the loose? Valyn wasn't so certain anymore.

"I'm not certain I entirely believe you," he said, honestly. "And..." he blinked at the girl. She was an assassin? No, this was all simply madness. He was probably dying on the battlefield somewhere, and this was all a delusion.

He'd always though death delusions involved reliving happy moments, or at the very least large bosomed ladies in revealing clothing. For a final flight of fancy, this left much to be desired.

Dias shrugged; Valyn's (why was River calling him lord? Although Dias supposed he had that coiffed, pampered look royalty and noblemen tended to possess, although a lot of good a title would do him here) being incredulous was hardly surprising. "Like I said, you don't have to take my word for it. You'll get proof enough when night falls."

He couldn't help glancing down at River with the faintest flicker of a smile as she made the first coherent joke he could remember hearing out of her. It was hardly the first time someone had marveled, or made comments about, his eating habits, but to hear River relaxed enough to be amused and enough in her own head to make jokes after her outburst at the head doctor was reassuring.

Ashton's referring to River as his little sister, though - without Dias even introducing her as such - caught his attention, however, and he gave the other man a long, steady look. Ashton had certainly never had the chance to become acquainted with Dias' tendency to adopt children while they'd known each other in Dias' time, and to have such compelling evidence that Ashton knew things about him Dias didn't even know he knew - particularly something as personal as that - was disconcerting. Aloud, all he said was, "I suppose I will."

How could he not remember Ashton after this? Ashton was the only person from his own world in Landel's, unless some of the other new arrivals were also familiar.

Ashton allowed Dias a knowing smile. He knew he'd caught a little bit of a nerve mentioning Dias' tendency to 'adopt' younger girls. Rena had never fully explained why Dias did it, but Ashton had a good idea nonetheless. After all, Ashton was interested in learning about all of his new friends whilst on his travels with them, and had never been above gossip.

He prolonged the stare for a moment, then, feeling awkwardness coming on and deciding to nip it in the bud before he got more nervous and - Tria forbid! - blush, he let his eyes finally wander to River, smiling at her as he scarfed down a bit more of his burger tower. "I'm glad.. he has someone taking care of him, then." Rena'd be glad, too, he thought comfortingly. This girl was strange, but if Dias was happy with her, then Ashton would be too.

Another bite. Another burger. He looked at Valyn, chewing and swallowing, and spoke to him for the first time. "...and what? You don't look quite right, something wrong? Besides this place being wrong in general?" Ah, small talk.

River was clearly quite pleased with herself, even if Dias wasn't as prone to reacting like Simon did. Different brothers, different reactions. It was just a pleasure to be had, being graced with what she'd been graced with, and a curse to bear the marks that she bore. But for now, she was all smiles.

"He needs it. One might dream to wonder if you don't too." She frowned suddenly and looked up as the intercom piped up. "Someone to watch your back." The meaning wouldn't be lost on him.

The worried, troubled look on the lord's face was a cause for some concern, concern that was addressed by River jumping up and literally prancing across the table effortlessly to sit next to him in some attempt at offering comfort. With someone like River, it was hard to tell sometimes. Still.

"You're worried that you're delusional, experiencing a false inference based on external reality. You're worried that you're holding to a false perception despite what's incontrovertible. You're not." The dark-haired girl looked at him, very serious and seeming almost gentle for a moment as she folded her hands in her lap, just like a proper girl. "When the giant, carnivorous spiders come after you, it'll all make sense. Or at least cement the reality that your perception is not based on false notions."

"And nothing," Valyn said, shaking his head softly. "Just a stray thought." That hardly needed voicing. And it seemed River - another curious name - hadn't heeded his request to stay out of his mind. He couldn't even feel her, either. He'd never felt Shadow, either, but that had been different. Shadow had been a constant presence - both physically and mentally - since Valyn was sixteen. He'd grown to accustomed to the other boy to ever notice.

"Please, I'd appreciate it if you didn't look inside my mind. Or at least ask my permission beforehand; it's considered polite to do so. I can't seem to keep you out on my own here."

He frowned, his food still relatively untouched. "If I were to assume that everything you're telling me is true... why me?" If this were some place that... stole people for purposes Valyn still couldn't quite grasp, why him? It wasn't as though anyone would pay a ransom for him. His father would kill him the moment he lay eyes on him, and his twin would most likely attempt to have him collared and locked away as a madman.

Funny, that.

When the loud voice came out of nowhere, Valyn did jump and look about, trying to determine the source of it, expecting an overseer or some such. This place was looking more and more like slave barracks by the minute.

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Day 22: Brunch

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