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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"Poker?" Ayumu blinked once, sounding for all the world as though she'd never heard the word before in her life. With the memories from her time as Yuuko she likely could have played the game, and done well -- sleight of hand was certainly one of her skills that carried over into the false personality. But she had no reason to do so, or even to admit she knew what he was talking about at all. "What does that mean?"

The way he held himself, though, made her wonder a little. Somehow he seemed a little more...alert than most. It was difficult to pinpoint, but she tended to trust her instincts even if she had no concrete evidence to point to; even if he was doing nothing more than keeping a wary eye out for the nurse to return and harass them some more, it was still a step up from the ordinary person who wouldn't notice if someone so much as walked past. He didn't really have the build of someone who sat around and did nothing (after all, she'd certainly managed to get a close look at said build a couple days ago) and, out of near-automatic habit, she began cataloging everything she noticed about him and trying to determine what sort of person this Brian really was.

She smiled and gave an apologetic shrug. "I'm afraid I don't recall speaking to you before, Brian-han. Are you certain you met me?"

Huh. For being a chick who didn’t know how to play Texas Hold ‘Em, she’d done pretty well, and he wasn’t sure if getting mindtricked for a whole day suddenly made you pull out poker skilsl from nowhere or if she was hustling now. If she was, he couldn’t see what she could possibly get outta it. He would’ve thought her cluelessness kinda cute if it wasn’t for the fact that she had wiped the floor with him.

“Yeah, pretty sure we met. I’d remember a pretty face like yours,” Dean said, the winning smile automatic, even though he was wondering what “Brian-han” was supposed to mean. “Sun Room? My brother interrupted us hanging out, he got kinda bitchy?”

At the 'pretty face' comment Ayumu ducked her head as though suddenly bashful, inwardly sighing at Brian's refusal to let the matter go. That particular day was something she didn't want to acknowledge at all, much less discuss with someone who'd been in the same situation, but he didn't seem to agree. If he was hoping to resume their acquaintance in the same place it left off, he would certainly be very disappointed.

"That...doesn't sound familiar." Ayumu glanced up again, expression carefully schooled to reflect a mixture of curiosity and shyness. "I'm sorry. But if you wanted to tell me about 'poker' I'd be interested to hear it?"

Man oh man. Dean was almost willing to bet that Sen was a born again virgin or whatever, if they were going with her being a total opposite of Yuuko.

“You serious?” Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. “For a chick who’s never heard of poker, you did pretty good for your first time the other day. Schooled me bad.”

And it wasn’t like he’d suddenly forgot how to play, like two newbies just going at it. If he remembered correctly, “Eric” had been competent (maybe not awesome and he’d lose against real players, but he actually knew the rules of the game at all) and for all the crap he’d had with his “real” life that day, he hadn’t picked up skills out of thin air. What Eric had been, it’d just been like everything that was already there was just dicked around with. He’d probably have to get more details from Sam about his own experience and see if he got anything new thrown in his lap like Sen must’ve. Ruby probably hadn’t been here for that whole thing if she’d just got here, so she was a no go.

"The other day?" Ayumu echoed, tilting her head to one side with apparent confusion. "Which other day? None of this sounds familiar, Brian-han."

Was he just annoyed that he'd lost the game? Some men were simply poor losers and that was the end of it -- especially when the person who'd won was female. Maybe he wanted to play against her again and see if he would win this time. Or maybe he simply wanted to know the trick she'd used to beat him. But, well. Her curiosity would have to go unsatisfied in this instance, as she wasn't about to admit any knowledge of the game whatsoever.

She allowed a brief pause before quickly adding, "It's not that I don't mind meeting a new person, I just...I don't know who you are. Honest." Or not.

Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

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