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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Well, that was logical enough, but Kadaj gave a him a grin that seemed to imply he wasn't entirely convinced anyway. It was just more fun that way. After a moment, though, he nodded, "accepting" the answer. Who said he couldn't try annoying his siblings?

He dropped it the second Yazoo brought up that, though, the expression fading into a far more serious one as he considered whether he should deliver the good news or the bad news first. Given the question, it would make more sense to give the good first, but since he himself despised being lied to or misled in any way... would it really be fair?

Thinking that way wasn't helping at all. Turning his attention back to his burritos, he picked at one with his fork for a moment before beginning to mash it into his plate. "One of the other patients here has the ability to read people's fortunes from cards, and he said Mother was coming." He looked up from his food to glance around the room, searching for Luxord. He managed to catch the tail end of not one but two fights, and after smirking for a moment at the unfortunate soul that had been sedated (red hair, tattoos... ah, that had to be him), he said, "He's not here yet, but I said we'd help him later if he needs it. He deserves it, don't you think?"

Yazoo shot Kadaj a playful glare as if daring his brother to question his bravery when it came to trying new foods. As if to prove a point, he reached over and plucked a piece of chicken off of Kadaj’s tray, popping it into his mouth with a grin.

That instantly became a mistake though, as the news that Mother was coming to Landel’s caused him to choke on his food. He washed the bite down with a drink and stared at Kadaj as if his brother had suddenly sprouted an extra head. “What?!” The fights didn’t go unnoticed by him, but the announcement concerning Mother had his complete attention. It now made sense why Luxord had been holding those playing cards.

Appetite leaving him for now, Yazoo pushed his tray of half eaten food away from him to be finished later if there was time before the next shift. He leaned forward to rest his arms on the table and raised his shoulders in a slight shrug to Kadaj’s last statement, saying in answer, “I guess so, although I can’t say I entirely trust him.” He was going to leave it at that, but his curiosity finally got the better of him, and as an afterthought he asked, “Does he know when Mother’s going to be here?”

The theft of his food was enough to put the tiniest of pouts on face, but that quickly dissolved into laughter when Yazoo began choking on it. So what if that was cruel? It was funny! The laughter soon ended, though, both because of the gravity of the situation and because, well, it was his brother. Kadaj wasn't a complete sociopath.

Stealing one of Yazoo's sausages in retaliation (not that it mattered, seeing as how the other silver-haired man didn't seem very interested in it anymore-- it was the principle of the thing), he waved it around in a mock victory pose (it all came back to him, didn't it?) and said, "He said she'd be here the fourth shift. I believe him, though-- the fact that we're going to be having visitors later strengthens his claim, wouldn't you say?

"Besides," Kadaj added, finally eating the food still speared on his fork, "he looked genuinely surprised to when he saw what cards came up. He even gave me one. I don't think he'd do that if he was lying-- he seemed pretty attached to them, you know." The next time he saw the man, he was going to have to ask about what powers he had back on his world. It would be interesting to find out, not to mention useful in case he was ever caught for special counseling.

Yazoo watched Kadaj out of the corner of his eye, rolling his eyes at the way his brother was waving the sausage around the fork. He waved his hand at his tray nonchalantly, saying, “Feel free to have the rest.”

When Kadaj mentioned visitors, he lifted his head from where he had been resting his chin in an upturned palm, turning to face the other with a slightly raised eyebrow. “I suppose that does strengthen his claim.” He wasn’t going to tell Kadaj to be careful of whom he trusted, not when the matter concerned Mother. Like himself, his brother was not to try and be stopped from getting what he wanted.

Going back to idly gazing around the room, he remarked, “I wouldn’t know, since I’ve only “met” him once. However, if he’s as attached to those cards as he seemed, and he let you keep one, then…,” Yazoo trailed off there with a small shrug as he took a drink of his milk, deciding to leave the discussion there for now and just sit back and wait to see what happened when it was time for the visitations.

Even though their mock battle over food had made little to no sense in the first place, Kadaj eagerly accepted his brother's surrender of the rest of his food as further proof of his "victory." Whatever helped fill the time, right? After eating a little bit more of it, though, he nudged the plate back, giving Yazoo a stern look. Even if he'd lost his appetite, he was going to eat more of his food. They couldn't risk being low on energy later that night.

Returning to his burritos, he preoccupied himself a little while longer with eating them before finally getting around to the bad part of the news. "The only problem with this is... well, you know. Have you been paying attention to the bulletin board lately? The Head Doctor apparently made an appearance in the Chapel last shift. None of the patients could get to him, but he was there. He made a speech... the whole thing is on the bulletin, but the main part is that the visitors already know what it's like to be here. You see..."

He went back to picking at his food, staring down at it with a perturbed look on his face. Luckily (or unluckily), this part of the announcement had stuck with him enough that he could quote it directly, and, imitating the Head Doctor's voice from the frequent transmissions from the intercom, he said, "'Due to both genetic and environmental factors, many of them have gone through the very same treatment.'" He glanced up after that, making no effort at all to hide the horror and worry that the idea of Mother going through all of this brought him. If anyone outside of his family had been there, it would have been a different story, of course, but since it was Yazoo...

Feeling something bump against his elbow as it rested on the table, Yazoo’s attention was drawn away from the cafeteria crowd as he looked down to see what it was, raising an eyebrow at the half-eaten food on his tray. He caught the stern look on Kadaj’s face out of the corner of his eye and relented, pulling his tray back in front of him to finish his breakfast.

He was finding it more difficult to eat, though, as Kadaj talked, the thought that Mother had had to endure what they were going through now drying up his throat and making it hard to swallow. The more his brother said, the more he started to inwardly seethe with anger. By this point, he felt as though he would give anything just so he could wrap his fingers around the Head Doctor’s throat.

Picking up his milk cartoon was all Yazoo could to do to keep himself from slamming his fists down on the table, but he had to put it back down when he realized he was crushing it with his grip. He forced himself to relax and keep eating, to keep thinking. Part of him couldn’t help but feel as though this was all just another trick being played on them by the Head Doctor’s to keep them under his control, but that thought was instantly tossed aside the moment Yazoo looked over at Kadaj and saw what he was feeling. “We’ll get our revenge, brother, for what he’s done to us and Mother,” he said to reassure them both.

It was hard to eat now, but it wouldn't make any sense for him to insist that Yazoo eat only to completely ignore his food himself. True to form, though, Kadaj mostly just shifted his food around and very rarely lifted some of it to his mouth to eat, chewing as slowly as he could and obviously tasting none of it. So much for the novelty of new and interesting foreign foods.

Yazoo's anger surprised him in a dim sort of way, mainly because he himself felt far too sick with worry to even acknowledge his own rage over the subject. That would probably come later, probably once someone other than his brother tried talking to him, but for now...

He managed a small smile at his brother's reassuring comment, then a much more sincere one as some of his confidence returned. Really, why was he being so pessimistic about it all? Mother had survived, hadn't she? She wouldn't be coming here unless she had, so she still had to be strong. There was no reason to worry.

With all of this in mind, Kadaj replied in a much stronger voice, "You're right, Yazoo. The Head Doctor will pay for everything he's done to our family, and so will everyone else! The only thing they've accomplished with bringing Mother here is increase their own punishment, not ours. We'll get them back for everything, and bring this place to ruin once and for all!"

Kadaj’s declaration had Yazoo smiling around the forkful of eggs he had just stuffed into his mouth. He nodded in agreement and managed a, “Mmmhmm,” in the back of his throat, not trusting himself to talk with his mouth full without choking again.

“That Head Doctor will be very sorry he ever brought us here,” he said once he had swallowed his food. “But in order to show him just who he’s messing with, we’re going to need our energy.” He looked at Kadaj out of the corner of his eye and pointed to his brother’s plate, adding with a small smirk, “Which means we need to eat.”

Oh fine~ if he had to. Kadaj laughed and attacked his food with... well, not exactly the same vigor he would have shown if he hadn't known about the whole situation with Mother, but it was definitely an improvement. He was grateful Yazoo was there, really, because if he'd been left on his own like he had been before... it wouldn't have ended well.

Once he thought he'd eaten enough of his food to keep his brother from nagging him about it, he decided to change the subject, if only because the distraction would ensure he didn't go charging after the Head Doctor anytime soon. At night that was fine, but during the day... "How did you spend your last shift?" he asked curiously, somewhat disgusted by the fact that he was resorting to small talk but really not knowing what else there was to discuss. Well, besides the flute that had been playing for a little while now, and the altogether too large reunion going on amongst the traitor's friends. Just where was Loz anyway? The two of them alone weren't going to be enough to fight them off if they decided to attack at once. It just wasn't fair.

Having finished his own food, Yazoo was once again resting his elbows on the table, listening to the sound of the flute as it floated around the cafeteria. It was interrupted, though, by Kadaj’s voice, and he answered his question with a small shrug.

“Pulling cat-boy around on his leash some more,” he said with a small smirk, flicking some hair behind his shoulder. He looked around the cafeteria, but failed to spot Seimei among the other patients (even though he wasn’t hard to miss). Oh, well, it wasn’t like he cared about Seimei. He just liked to check up on his toys and make sure they were still in one piece. If there was one thing he hated, it was when they broke before he was finished with them.

... Well, that was succinct. Not that he really expected anything less (or more), considering it was Yazoo, but Kadaj was rapidly growing restless. He'd eaten his burritos like a good boy, relayed the message about Mother, and now...? What else was there to do?

He pouted faintly, fidgeting with his fork. It was a good thing it was almost the end of the shift, really, because by this point he just wanted to do something. Remembering the post on the bulletin board, he couldn't help but smirk to himself and, mimicking his brother, glance around for his ~~pincushion~~ toy. With any luck, he'd be able to catch Elena at that... host-whatever event and traumatize her some more. Tamaki would probably be be looking after her, but maybe just his presence alone...

Which brought up a new question. "What do you plan on doing next shift?" he asked Yazoo, turning to face him again. Might as well establish that before lapsing into silence once more. Giving his brother a conspirational look, he added in a sing-song voice, "Going to play with kitty~?"

Yet another shrug. “I don’t really know,” he answered, looking over at Kadaj. “It depends on where they cart off us to, I guess. If it’s back to the sun room,” he wrinkled his nose slightly, “then I won’t be doing anything important.”

He smirked then, and said with a small laugh, “If kitty pays me another little visit, then I guess I could yank on his chain some more.” He stood and turned around in his seat, now facing in the opposite direction of Kadaj while leaning back against the table on his elbows. After a second or so of silence, he looked at Kadaj again and tilted his head slightly in curiosity. “What do you have planned for next shift? Anything interesting?”

Kadaj blinked. "'Wherever they cart us off to?' It's free choice. At least, that's what the schedule claimed. If it was really 'free choice,' I'd be walking out of this place or, better yet, hunting down the Head Doctor and skinning him alive. Isn't it delightful, the number of misnomers here?" Shifting in his seat, he fiddled with his utensils some more before sighing and almost resignedly rising to his feet. Turning away from the table and picking up his tray, he said over his shoulder, "I'll be right back."

... What? It was all-you-can-eat.

Once he'd gotten a few more burritos (they really were pretty good), he returned, sliding back into his place and picking up the conversation right where he'd left off. "It's a shame you don't have a real chain for him. It'd be fun to lock him in place until night came, don't you think? The monsters could have a feast! Wouldn't do to tie him up too early, though-- just once he gets boring, right?"

He picked at the burritos thoughtfully before starting to eat them. It was honestly hard to tell whether or not he was actually hungry anymore or if he was just using the action of chewing as something to do. "I planned on going to that ridiculous host event," he said once he'd swallowed his mouthful, sending a significant glance in Elena's direction. "I have an old friend I need to catch up with, you know~?"

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Day 22: Brunch

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