damned_institute | Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

Cloud knew he should be taking the opportunity to check out the rec field during the day. The fresh air would be a welcome change from the crowded stuffiness the Institute usually provided, and he would have a chance to scope out the area when it wasn't all under the cover of darkness. When offered a choice, however, he remained in the sun room. He told himself it was so that he could watch the bulletin, him still being fairly new and needing all the information he could get, but the thought rang hollow.

The real reason he was here, he knew, was because he would be out there. Maybe it was weak of him, but he needed a chance to breathe. Ever since he'd arrived it had been nothing but one shock after another, and seeing Zack standing in the cafeteria that morning talking to Aerith had been the final card that caused his tower to crumble. He needed to just sit back somewhere out of the way and start rebuilding.

Being able to watch the bulletin from here was just a perk. Cloud made himself comfortable on one of the sofas, watching people come and go but not really paying attention to them. He took the time to try and rate this on a scale of the biggest messes he'd ever gotten thrown into.

(for Sheena)

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Allen blinked at him. What was he talking about? Had he even heard what he'd said?

"Uh...I'm Allen. I know they call us weird things, so, what's your name?"

He wasn't sure that he could have a conversation with someone who obviously didn't want one, but he was going to give it a valiant effort. Maybe the boy could talk about something that made sense instead of...church bells and graveyards. That was kind of a dreary image to paint, after all.

Allen... Allen... Had Artemis known someone named Allen? The name seemed familiar, though he couldn't place it. He'd been here so long, though--names were probably blending together.

"Artemis Fowl, the Second," Artemis replied, continuing to look at Allen with the same blank expression. At least he had answered the question at hand this time. "Pleasure to meet you," he finished, though the phrase sounded terribly automatic.

"I apologize for the seemingly unrelated statement," he said, shifting in his chair so he was sitting a little straighter. "Today is not a very good day for me, I'm afraid. I seem to be saying anything that comes to mind. I beg your pardon."

Maybe the sound had come from Allen, maybe it hadn't. After all, he seemed rather confused by why Artemis would be talking about such things. Kakashi had instantly recognized the rocks as something significant, and the snow fit Haku perfectly. Perhaps he'd heard something else.

"Nice to meet you too," Allen said, sounding distinctly more genuine than Artemis had managed.

He smiled anyway. At least the other had answered! Maybe he was just off in his own world. His earlier words were...kind of a mystery, though. Was it possible that this boy knew something about him, without knowing? He was a remember of a religious order, after all. It seemed a little strange, but not much was normal here, anyway.

"Why...why did those things come to mind?" he asked, carefully. He'd been talking a lot about himself lately, and it was kind of strange to do so. While it was true that many people knew about Exorcists back home, many people didn't know, as well. Allen hadn't ever gotten accustomed to talking about it with people outside the Order.

"Not to mind," Artemis said with a small, wry smile. "It's what I heard.

"Courtesy of this place," he continued, looking around at the walls to indicate he was talking about the institute. "I'm able to hear certain things because of a trait you possess. Now, I don't know what that trait is or what it does, but I can hear that you have something special. Something that isn't laughing maniacally or screaming at me. Which, by the way, I appreciate. I've had enough of people screaming at me.

"So I suppose the roundabout answer to that question is that they did not come to mind. They're in your mind. What church bells and a graveyard have to do with it, I don't know. It's like asking me what a bar of music has to do with the life of the composer--I can play it and I can hear it, but I can't place it in a personal context."

Artemis paused, realizing that he'd told someone he'd only just met what was wrong with him. What had been done to him. And it was because Allen's Commune wasn't screaming at him? Or was he slipping further than he thought he had? Prattling on about things that he kept hidden away because he was ashamed of them--and why?

He didn't know. And for once, he didn't care either.

So this place had somehow given Artemis abilities he didn't have before? Allen had only heard about it taking abilities away, not giving them to people. This just got weirder and weirder.

It never occurred to him that Artemis was crazy, or lying. Allen always focused on the good in people, and unless they were a member of the Noah family, he generally believed people to be trustworthy until proven otherwise.

"I'm...an Exorcist," he said, not knowing if that word meant anything to Artemis at all. It was the best place to start, though. "The Order I'm part of is religious, which could explain the bells."

He didn't want to get into the graveyard thing. People dying...he didn't want to think about that anymore. Not right now, at least. Getting down on himself, wondering if his friends were alive and well, that wasn't going to help at all.

"You really...got this power from this place? How? I thought they just took things away from people. I heard that abilities we have on our own won't work properly here, but I haven't actually tested it yet."

"Oh they took things from me." More things than he wanted to go into, honestly. "And I would gladly give this ability up if it meant I could hear myself think.

"This room," he continued, gesturing to the Sun Room at large. "Is relatively quiet right now. However, imagine if everyone were talking--shouting--to be heard over everyone else, and there were twice as many people here. That is an approximation of what I hear almost always," he said, resting his chin in his hand and looking towards a shouting fight breaking out. "It's not a power, it's slowly driving me insane.

"Which, I imagine, is the aim of the whole operation," he said, turning his attention back to Allen. "I wouldn't try to use any abilities you may have in your home world here--some of them can backfire horribly. I know a young lady who bleeds profusely at the nose when she does some things, and a young man who nearly passes out. If you do intend to try, I recommend starting slow and building up until you know what effects you'll undergo.

"So you're an Exorcist, then?" Artemis continued seamlessly, as though the two topics were somehow related. "What do you exorcise? You may be able to help get rid of some things that wander these halls."

Allen took in all the information. Some of it surprised him, and that showed on his face for a minute. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle all that stuff going on in his head. Was Artemis really hearing all of that, all the time?

He looked over at the shouting and wondered what was going on. He didn't want to go get involved, though. Hopefully no one would get hurt. If they did, he might change his mind, but maybe one of the nurses would actually do something useful and help break it up.

He looked back at Artemis. "Well, I'll be careful," he said, and meant it. Overdoing it immediately wasn't going to be very useful to the people he was trying to help, and he knew that! He'd go as far as he had to, though, to protect anyone. If that meant pushing the limitations that Landel's had put on him, well, he'd do it. But he wasn't going to just test it to see.

"I exorcise Akuma," he said. "It's not as cut and dry as that, I guess, but...that's the easiest answer I can give you. I want to save people, but I want to save the Akuma, too. I don't know if I can help with the things that go on at night, but I want to."

Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

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