damned_institute | Dayshift 43: Waiting Room / Lobby 2 [4th Shift]

"Now you just have a seat and wait for your visitor like everyone else."

As the nurse went away from him, Kurogane huffed out some agitation but refused to have a seat. Hearing that he had a visitor had been one of the last things he'd expected. It was always the magician who got one, not him. And who the hell would want to visit him anyway?

During his first protests, the nurse had been telling him to behave since it wasn't nice to be sour to girls, so he knew it had to be a girl that was visiting. There were a few of those Kurogane knew could show up as a "visitor" for him, all of which were annoying. Some were worse than others too. He could probably handle if Sohma showed up, and maybe Amaterasu, but when it came to Tomoyo-hime... she was already hard to handle normally, no matter what world she came from. The Piffle version had been pretty much the same, just raised differently. If he saw her, even a fake her, she would probably be just the same and he'd have to at put up with it no matter what.

Eventually he chose to take a seat, knowing that he would not be leaving any time soon. Of course, he picked the one that was furthest into the corner to avoid unwanted conversations. He would already have to deal with a visitor; he shouldn't have to deal with anything more.

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Ah, sweet little Naminé, avoiding the subject as she always did. It was almost as if they were back at the castle, him trying to play a game while subtlety prodding for clues about the latest plans revolving around her and her power while she meekly kept the topic off of herself. He was curious what was so horrible about the situation that she refused to speak of it, but that was...

...before she produced a packet of Tarot Cards and he lost his train of thought ~~she knew him too well~~. He took the bag like a child would take a coupon for a free pony, hypnotized by their mere presence. Tarot cards. Tarot cards. He had resorted to using the regular cards in their place, having lacked them, but now...

If it wouldn't bring about concerned nurses to sedate him, he would have picked her up in another hug.

"I do apologize that I've nothing to give you in return." He was not giving her his pocketwatch. This may have been Naminé, and she may have given him Tarot Cards, but he was not giving her that pocketwatch. Ever. The hand of Fate herself would need backup in removing that clock from his hands. But, perhaps...

Ah! Yes, he did! Unfortunately, he did not have it on hand, but if she continued to visit...

He slid his usual cards back down into his sleeves and recovered a shiny blue die, then carefully placed it into the girl's hand. "Hold onto this until I can give you something better. If you planned to visit me again, in any case."

The lack of silence might have bothered most people, but Sarah knew her gift was appreciated because Daniel suddenly went silent, staring at the pack of cards as if she had just given him gold. Pleased that her gift was received so well, Sarah just smiled once more. Even if she could read his thoughts, she wouldn't have been offended. Daniel always had a soft spot for timepieces, but she hadn't found anything of the like (that she could afford, anyway). Also, that was the one thing the nurses told her not to bring.

In return, she got a blue die, toying with the piece for a moment before placing it in her pocket to keep it safe. The gift itself was appreciated, as Sarah didn't expect to get anything back (after all, what would Daniel really have to give her?) but as usual, her inventive cousin had something up his sleeve.

"The best gift would be for you to come home," She reminded him, but she nodded when he asked if she was coming back. "I'm going to visit every week until that happens, so don't worry."

He smiled when she said that. Why couldn't it have been this way before, when she was here? It was with a small tinge of bitterness that he realized that, at least since the awkward discussion of theirs in the Arts and Crafts room, this was one of the few times a conversation had stayed a simple, cheerful one. The longer they remained here, the more their talks became strained and tainted with others names. The Replica, the Princess, Alita, Sora... Why wasn't it always just this?

"I look forward to it." He meant that. He thought he did.

He turned his attention to the bag in his hands and, carefully, he opened it and removed the rubber band around the cards within. The Gambler ran his fingers downs the edges of them, admiring their admittedly faded designs with a sense of calm. She was such a sweet thing, to think of him.

Luxord looked back up at his cousin with a mischievous little grin. As wonderful as a distraction those lovely cards were, he still had yet to find what was bothering the girl and, had she planned to hide it from him, she had just given him the wrong tools. "What do you say I read them for you, peanut?"

Of course, Sarah wasn't ever going to give up on her cousin. Not when Daniel was literally all that she had left, anyway. If only she knew how much Daniel regretted not having conversations like this earlier... But even if she didn't know, it was like Sarah was determined to make up for the lost time between them by constantly visiting until the day Daniel could accompany her home.

Even when Daniel threw her plan right back in her face by offering to divine her future, something that made Sarah redden as she tried to think of a way to decline. Or, should she decline? They were just tarot cards, as much as Sarah would have liked to think they had some divine power in them, they were just... cards, right?

But Daniel always did have a way of making it look convincing.

"Um... of course! We haven't done that in a long time." But in the end, she couldn't say no. Even if Sarah didn't believe in the cards, she wanted to see Daniel use them anyway. At least just once.

Sarah had little choice in this matter, despite him asking. He had been given tarot cards -- there was no question of whether he would use them or not. It was best that she knew to go along.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the foresight to know he would be receiving these cards, meaning he hadn't chosen a seat near one of those wooden tables. That wasn't about to stop him, however. With an amused chuckle, the Gambler briefly stood from his seat, only to move forward a few steps and sit on the ground. He made a motion for the smaller blonde to join him before shuffling his new cards (they were longer and bulkier than the playing cards, meaning he hadn't any room for his usual flourishes) and spreading ten cards in front of him, nine in three rows of three while the last stayed at the bottom.

page of cups, reversed knight of swords, reversed lovers
the magician, six of cups, six of wands
ten of swords, ace of swords, temperance
ace of wands

...Well.

Luxord tilted his head at the results. That... hadn't related in the least to what he had been hoping to find. He wished to know what his dear cousin had been doing without him, not... This. This was...

"Be patient. We'll be together again." If the cards wanted to tell him that, who was he to ignore their message? And they never lied thus far, so...

Edited 2009-08-26 13:00 (UTC)

When Daniel motioned for Sarah to sit on the floor with him, she actually was sort of relieved. The strange movement did get some notice from the nurses but since what they were doing was decidedly nonviolent, the attention soon faded and, Sarah noticed, it was actually easier for them to hide the cards this way. The flat surface also made a spread possible, so Sarah simply sat next to Daniel and watched with curiosity as he proceeded to divine the future.

Since Sarah wasn't very knowledgeable on this sort of thing (she was interested, once upon a time, until the other children made fun of her and called her a witch. It was a painful memory.), she really did seem to get the impression that this was some sort of divine ceremony. Especially when, as soon as Daniel revealed the results, he tilted his head, as if confused.

Was it... a bad sign?

"Really?" It didn't seem so to Sarah, when Daniel revealed that the cards were saying they would soon be together. Though, as happy as she was to hear that, his expression upon reading that result was still very strange.

"... But, is that all?" Something did seem off. Even if Daniel had just been playing with her to boost her spirits... He genuinely seemed confused at this result.

He nodded his head when she asked for confirmation, but it still... That wasn't what he wanted an answer to! Perhaps the girl's wish to hide it was preventing the cards from speaking of it...?

Hm.

"No, it's not all." It just wasn't a lot to go on. A shame... Still, it was something. Why not tell her? "It says you've been having a hard time lately." He pointed his finger to the Page of Cups, letting it rest there for a moment. "This is you." He pointed to the upside-down Lovers next, keeping a careful eye on Sarah's expressions as he spoke. "This means you've been in quite a few arguments or the like. This," his finger moved to the middle card, "means it will end soon."

He moved back, collecting the cards into his hands as he did so. "Peanut, what's been happening with you? You can tell me."

Dayshift 43: Waiting Room / Lobby 2 [4th Shift]

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