damned_institute | Night 43: F21-30 Hall

[in F22]

Falis was sitting on Senna's bed, her back to the wall with the shinigami laying against her, when the weird intercom thingie went off. She looked up at the little box for a moment before frowning. What the fuck had that been? Damnit! Where was Dominikov when she needed him to figure shit like this out for her?

A sharp pain ran through the hunter's left arm accompanied by a searing heat she recognized from the night before. It seemed peoples' fears were going to be true this night. Taking a peak at the flesh underneath her bandage, Falis grimaced seeing the decay return and it work its way up to her shoulder. At least it stopped there, but she wasn't sure it'd stay stopped all night long.

Her eyes slid back to the sleeping shinigami. Falis licked her lips. Damn, she looked and smelled... No. She was not going to do this. She was stronger that whatever fucked up zombie sickness. Senna was important to the hunter. She may be Falis' prey, but not prey like this. Resisting the hunger that lay in her stomach, she idly combed her finger through Senna's hair as she rest her head back against the wall and waited for people to show up or for the shinigami to wake.

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Meche honestly hadn't expected to be able to get Soma back--but once she did, she took advantage of it right away and hustled the girl backwards again, all the way out the door this time. It was a lot easier than she expected. Soma's body language was still angry, but she also seemed to be struggling less than she had even a few seconds earlier.

While she still had the light from inside the door, Meche took a quick look up and down the hallway. It looked pretty much deserted. Good--nobody's brains to eat here but hers. She hooked one heeled shoe on the handle to pull it firmly shut behind them. Then, just to be on the safe side, she leaned back against it, still keeping hold of Soma from behind. Alita might be strong enough to break down the door, but with the two of them against it, at least it would probably take her a while.

So much for a quiet night off. Then again, Meche supposed, it could have been a lot worse. There was really a chance that it could still get worse. For some reason she didn't think so, though; things seemed to be winding down for now.

She sighed and said quietly to Soma, "When you tell me you're calm again and mean it, I'll let you go."

Hokuto ran back out into the hall, and barely managed not to slam into... Meche and Soma. Oops. "Hi," she said, keeping her distance and half-wishing she had a weapon on her. "Mind if I get through?"

Okay, Meche might need her help, but... she really hoped not. Because she needed to be there for Falis.

And Meche was out. One down. And uh, hopefully not really down. Senna really needed to go out there and check on them. Falis' grip made that near impossible, and so Senna half-turned, or tried to, watching her roommate. "Hey," she said, still in that easy tone, bumping her head backwards into Falis' shoulder congenially. "How you doing?" Like nothing had happened. Like nothing more would happen.

Senna shifted in Falis' hold, attempting to gently loosen the grip. Was it that she had confidence in Falis, or some kind of faith? Either way, she understood that for no reason other than trust, Falis wouldn't hurt her. She didn't have that guarantee with Soma and Meche out there. Senna's wrist attested to that. True as that was, Senna wasn't going to leave Falis alone either, not like this.

The air in the hallway was clearer and cooler than that of the room behind them, and Soma took deep, instinctive breaths. Here the scent of flesh wasn't overpowering as much as it was simply a little strong, despite Meche's arms around hers, and as she breathed, reason slowly began to return. Soon she stopped struggling altogether, although there was still faint hostility in her eyes.

There wasn't reason enough for her to feel anything but hatred--not yet--but at least that anger was under control now. There was too much to process to consider regret or guilt; that might return in the morning, when she had time to think everything over. For now, she only took another deep breath, ignoring the crackle of the intercom.

When she spoke again, it was a little closer to her usual flat tone of voice, though the undercurrent of anger was still barely present. "Let me go."

As Senna tried to turn, Falis loosened her grip just enough to allow her some movement. She couldn't let go. Not yet. She needed to make sure her roommate wasn't going to run off and provoke the predator inside. When prey ran, the hunter's instinct was to chase.

"I'm so hungry," she finally said, a deep agony in her voice as the sentence ended. She grasped Senna's bleeding wrist, her nostrils flaring, and she raised the limb toward her face. She could feel some resistance from Senna, but it wasn't enough to stop her if she really wanted the girl's flesh. Almost close enough that the shinigami wouldn't be able to avoid it if the hunter strike, Falis' hand shook and she forced herself to let go of the injured wrist.

Fully letting her roommate go, Falis turned her back to Senna, drawing in deep breaths. It was so hard to not just turn back and strip the girl of her flesh, feast upon her and sate herself on Senna's blood. Shakily, she raised her blood-covered hand to her mouth, licking the life-giving liquid off it.

"Don't leave me..." Her voice was barely audible and shook. "Please."

Meche leaned forward, just enough to put some room between her back and the door so Hokuto could slip through. It was a good thing Hokuto was a pretty small girl, because Meche wasn't sure she could have gotten Soma to move again. "Move fast and close the door behind you," she warned.

She hoped Hokuto and Senna would be able to handle Alita on their own. If they got into trouble, she might be able to get in alone to help, but that would mean leaving Soma alone out in the halls where she might attack anyone who passed by. What if that frenzy didn't wear off, just kept on coming back until--and what could anyone else even do if that were true? Try to quarantine them? You couldn't just lock someone in their room and keep guard every night.

Soma sounded better, but still not all right again. Meche loosened her hold a little without letting go. If the girl broke free again and tried to hurt someone, Meche would just have to try to stop her, that was that. "I'm not going to let you back in there, and I'm not going to let you just wander the halls until I know it's safe," she explained calmly but firmly. "I'm sorry, Soma. I know it isn't your fault. Just...just try to keep taking deep breaths."

"Okay--thanks." Hokuto flashed Meche a smile, even if it wasn't entirely genuine, and slipped through the door as quickly as she could, pulling it firmly shut behind her.

She was really worried about what she'd see when she got back in, but the scene was greeted with just made her heart ache. She wanted to run over and hug Falis, but it wasn't safe, and she knew it... which just made her want to cry. "Hey," she said softly, trying to think; what now?

Night 43: F21-30 Hall

Outside F22

F22

Re: F22

Re: F22

Re: F22

Outside F22

F22