Day 44: Arts and Crafts Room, 4th Shift

[ryuuzaki]

The day had been slow for L so far, slower than he required: the events of the previous night were traumatic, but they did not outweigh his need for information and a useful way in which to apply whatever he might learn.

When the nurse shepherded him from the cafeteria, through the Sun Room, and over towards the door of the Arts and Crafts Room, he experienced a small internal wince: this was the room where it had happened the night before. Unpleasant, yes, but likely to be irrelevant in terms of my own welfare, except in terms of what I can learn from it, he reminded himself.

He had the impression that he could avoid the room if he wanted to, but there were several convincing reasons to push past his reluctance: his meeting with Lunge was necessary, the opportunity to see the room in more usual circumstances might be valuable, and he did not want the staff to see that he had been affected. He wasn't sure how they were tied to the events of the previous night, but the buzz of information around the Institute suggested some kind of strong connection.

As he stepped into the room, feet feeling imprisoned in the slippers that the staff kept insisting that he wear, he avoided the area where he had collapsed. Instead, he turned to the right and proceeded as far into the room as he could, then left, then took a seat in the back corner.

If the nurses pressed him to be more creative, he would take up painting. However, he expected to express his creativity in other ways.

[For Lunge.]

Comments

[faile.livejournal.com]

Faize had kept to himself for most of the day. Not for any particular reason, though; he simply didn't go out of his way to interact with others. He knew it would be better if he didn't keep to himself so much, but it was too late to be thinking about that.

It was a great relief to learn that Kratos was alive and well. The man's wounds had appeared fatal, and Faize had been fearing the worst. But it seemed it was all some strange trick of the institute in the end. Again, Faize had to wonder what the purpose of such a cruel act could be. Perhaps this all was some grand experiment in human psychology... or perhaps, as some suggested, it was a twisted game of sorts.

There was little use in dwelling on that subject, however. Zach had asked to meet with him today, and so once the fourth shift began, Faize made his way to the Arts and Crafts room. Immediately, the Eldarian spotted the man drawing at a table, and approached him.

"Good afternoon, Zach."

Faize stood by a chair, waiting to be acknowledged before sitting. He regarded the man's injuries with a concerned look, but he made no comment on them yet.

[darwinism]

Though Sylar had raised his eyes soon enough to see Faize walking towards him, there was something else that arrested his attention on the other side of the room: Peter and Wally, talking with each other. Dammit, if Peter saw him and pointed him out, that would be two carefully cultivated relationships down the drain.

So when 'Zach' said "you too" with a warm smile, he shifted to angle himself so that he was a little more hidden behind the large plastic bin of art supplies that a nurse had brought to the table. Then, as if it was part of the same motion, he gestured with his good hand to the seat across from him

"Thanks again for putting up with me," he said by way of invitation for Faize to sit down. He let out a small, self-depracating laugh as he glanced down at his pathetic, bandaged self. "As you can see, I... really need to get some of my own abilities working."

Guilt would probably be what worked best on this one.

[faile.livejournal.com]

Nodding at the man's gesture, Faize seated himself in the indicated chair. "It's no trouble at all," he quickly replied, though his eyes wandered again to Zach's injuries. His arm, his face, and that wheelchair...

"That looks rather serious. What in the world happened?" he asked with a sympathetic, somewhat worried look. Whatever it was, it seemed Zach was fortunate to still have his life. Faize began to wonder whether the man had a partner or a group to travel with at night. His ability to use his powers wasn't nearly as important as having the support that companions could provide.

Faize didn't want to bombard the man with questions and advice, however. Not only was it not the reason they agreed to meet today, but it was also possible that Zach would prefer not to talk about his encounter.

[darwinism]

Looked like Sylar had taken the right route to the kid's concern, and Sylar looked away as Faize asked his question. Inwardly, he was thinking: should he say he'd been attacked by a monster or tell the truth? One was safer; the other was more useful. Last shift, he'd told Brian the former, but Faize was someone he'd actually talked to before, so maybe he'd be able to pass off the information without getting too many questions about it.

Finally, he sighed and said: "A... patient came after me last night." He met the kid's eyes, seemingly hesitant. "I got Special Counseling a while ago and attacked him when I didn't know what I was doing. Now he's out to get me, and – not that I blame him–" he added quickly, apologetically, "–but... it turned out he's a very dangerous man."

[faile.livejournal.com]

"A patient did this?" Faize gasped, then stopped to allow Zach to continue. He frowned as he listened, remembering the Special Counseling patient he himself encountered just last night. It would be easy to hold a grudge against someone like that, if one didn't realize they were being manipulated.

But that certainly didn't excuse the harm inflicted on Zach for something he couldn't have controlled.

"That's terrible," he said after a moment, shaking his head. "Do you think he may attack again? I hope you plan to stay inside tonight, at the very least."

[darwinism]

More pity from the kid. Sylar wasn't even sure if the effort he was putting into this acquaintance would be worth his time in the end, but it sure was fun to make someone believe he was helpless...

The thought trailed off and he didn't let himself finish it. Instead, he met Faize's concerned eyes with a wry smile.

"I don't think I really have much choice," he said, and it was true. He hated it, but it was true: he was going to be down for the count for this Nightshift, at least, until either his leg healed enough to comfortably walk on or his hand healed enough to grasp onto extra support. He wasn't stupid, and he wasn't about to get himself even more injured by going out prematurely. No, no – he was going to bide his time. He was going to study.

"Anyway," Sylar finished with an intake of breath, "that's why I need to be able to protect myself." He pushed the paper he'd been drawing on toward Faize, tapping it with a finger and frowning in thought. "You... wouldn't happen to recognize these, would you?"

It was a long shot, but it was something.

[faile.livejournal.com]

Zach's statement received a nod, both of understanding and approval. Good. He wasn't likely to be in danger tonight, in that case. And hopefully he would be better-guarded against danger in the future.

Faize raised his eyebrows as a drawing was pushed toward him. He had noticed Zach drawing something earlier, but the issue of the man's injuries had taken precedence in his mind. The Eldarian picked up the page and examined it curiously.

"Symbols? I'm afraid I've never seen any quite like these." He set the paper back down on the table, but didn't take his eyes off of it just yet. "Do you believe they could be related to symbology? I know that different planets and civilizations often use different-looking symbols, so it would not be strange if these were among them."

He imagined Zach would only ask his opinion if he thought it could be relevant to symbology. That was, after all, what they were here to discuss, and it was the one thing Zach knew Faize was knowledgeable about.

[darwinism]

Damn. Of course it'd been too much to ask for. Sylar sighed with some amount of resignation as he pulled the paper back towards him and stared at the symbols longingly. He knew there was something significant in them, something he could use if he could just learn how... As he was now, he felt like a man who could recite an entire instruction manual by memory, aside from the last few crucial pages.

The last few crucial pages that detailed how to turn people into bombs.

"I'm not sure," Sylar finally answered as he continued staring at the markings. He absentmindedly traced his finger in a circle around one of them. He paused, then looked up at the kid. "See, part of my ability... is to pick up the powers of other people if I spend enough time with them – it's not as reliable as it used to be," he added hastily, as a necessary disclaimer, "but I did manage to get a power from a guy I used to know. That night, though, he... died. Monsters. I couldn't save him."

His brow creased in an apparent show of remorse; in truth, it was out of frustration.

"I know it has something to do with a practice called 'alchemy', but other than that?" He smiled wryly. "I have no idea. I haven't found anyone who could help me."

Who would help me.

Maybe the kid was useless after all if he couldn't tell him a damn thing. But... Sylar was here, and he was stuck in his seat. He'd might as well make the most of it.

[faile.livejournal.com]

Acquiring powers from the people around him? Faize had never heard of such an ability.

"Alchemy... you say?" That certainly rekindled Faize's interest. "Actually, I happen to know a few things about that field as well." He was being somewhat modest, seeing as some would consider him an expert on the subject.

Thinking of the symbols in terms of alchemy rather than symbology, they made a little more sense. "I see... so this is related to the alchemy of another world," he mused with his gaze fixed on the pages once again. "I'm afraid it may be impossible to accurately decipher the symbols used by a foreign civilization. Though I can guess at their basic meanings, I can't quite imagine what their uses could be."

[darwinism]

Basic meanings? Hell, that'd be good enough for Sylar, and save him the trouble of fruitlessly searching through all of the censored books in the library. Not that he could put total faith in the kid, considering he was apparently from an entirely different world, but whatever.

He chuckled outwardly. "I'll take that over nothing!" he said quite sincerely, pushing the paper forward again. Besides, he already knew what the 'use' was; he just didn't know how to implement it. He made eye contact with Faize and nodded his approval.

"Just tell me what you know."

[faile.livejournal.com]

"Well... to begin with, these symbols in the center of each seem to represent the sun and the moon. In ancient times, alchemists often used celestial bodies to represent certain ideas or elements." Having gained a basic understanding of Earth's alchemy through his interactions with the crew of the Calnus, Faize felt confident that at least this much was applicable to Earth. The specific connotations of the symbols, however, were much less certain.

"The sun and the moon in particular tend to be used to refer to two opposing concepts. To some, the sun represents that which is physical, while the moon represents that which is spiritual. For others, they correspond to particular materials and elements, such as gold and silver, or sulfur and mercury. With the two symbols appearing together, they may embody the idea of duality." Faize knew he could ramble a bit when it came to subjects like this, so he made a conscious effort to keep his explanation short enough to avoid overwhelming or even boring the man.

When he finished, he gave Zach a small, sheepish smile. "I'm not sure how much of this may be relevant to these drawings, however."

[darwinism]

Well, the kid actually did seem to know what he was talking about, but he was also right about the relevance to the drawings in that Sylar didn't know if there was any. Sun to moon to gold to mercury? Sylar didn't have any idea how any of that could figure into human bomb-making, even as he allowed himself and his familiar ability to mull over the information. By all means, he should have unlocked the ability's secrets by now, but maybe this was just another one of this place's limitations.

"I'm not sure either," he said in a mutter. He knew he should have been expressing more appreciation for Faize's help, but it was hard to act cheerful when he kept on running up against dead ends. He glanced up. "Do you know if it could have anything to do with... explosions? My friend, he... apparently could make them somehow."

[faile.livejournal.com]

Explosions? A small frown crossed Faize's face as he thought.

"Mercury and sulfur can both be used in the manufacture of explosives, however... not knowing whether that is even the intended meaning of those symbols, it is difficult to say whether or not that connection is meaningful..."

The intercom sounded as Faize trailed off. Nurses began making their way around the room, leading patients away.

"It seems we're out of time. I will think on this some more, and I'll tell you if something comes to me." With a light sigh, he added, "It would be ideal if we could find and ask someone who comes from the same world as your friend did, though."

[darwinism]

At first, Sylar thought Faize's frown might be out of suspicion toward the ability itself, but it soon proved to just be a product of contemplation. Good. Sylar didn't need to lose an tool when he was in such bad shape, and the kid was giving him something he could start working with.

Of course, it was right as they were about to make some actual progress that the intercom jingle came on. Sylar nearly winced at the sound of it, and he did wince when he saw Wally and Peter standing up from the nearby table.

But he glanced back to to the kid, trying to cover up his frustration (and the fact that he was ducking his head) with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Faize. It really means a lot to me. And..." he paused before letting out a breath and looking away, averting his eyes from the rest of the room. "You know, I tried that, but... I think they're a secretive bunch. They didn't help me much."

He shrugged, then met Faize's eyes again with a good-natured grin and a soft chuckle.

"Besides, I'm sure you and I can figure something out, right?"