damned_institute | Day 23: Lunch

The second the intercom sounded, while the man on the intercom was still talking, Ashton pulled himself off the couch in the Music Room and slowly made his way to the door. He walked, glided even, as if he were a ghost in a dream. The nurses had already filed up to escort the patients to the lunchroom, and one bustled over to walk Ashton those few feet from one room to another.

"You're not looking very well, Mr. Pritchett," she said cheerfully. "Didn't you enjoy your shower?"

Ashton replied with a small, forced smile, then shook his head. He didn't feel like talking now. Though the nurses were pushy and downright annoying, he figured he owed this one at least a little explanation. They didn't know - or didn't believe - what went on after dark, but he owed them the benefit of the doubt. "Bad day," he decided on telling her.

Bad day indeed. The showers and the music had done nothing for his nerves. But then again, what could get that graphic image out of his head?

He glided ghostily through the taco line and settled on two chicken and bean tacos, with chips, a scoop of guacamole, two churros on the side, and a glass of apple juice. He wasn't used to this sort of food (save the juice) and he wasn't even sure he'd eat it, but the chances were high that he'd be able to pass it off on someone.

He was on the verge of tears again, too. What he would have given to just sit down next to a barrel and eat a hamburger.

Thank goodness the cafeteria was bare just now, too. It left all the corner tables open, the tables that shouted 'Don't talk to me, I'm brooding over here.' He sat at one, pushed his food a little away from him, and buried his head in his arms.

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“Babysitting.”

She couldn’t imagine why some people actually wanted to take care of little kids as a side job. Once was bad enough, there was no way she would do it again.

Not even if they paid her.

“You’d be surprised.”

Though young of age, Raven had seen things that most couldn’t even dream about. Such was the life of a superhero, though she didn’t really care for calling herself one. Aliens, giant ooze monsters, dragons, wizards, shape shifters, cult leaders, being turned into a rabbit, demons, the end of the world…

Just to name a few.

Sure, Darkwing was used to raising one kid (and it was often a pain), but he couldn't imagine watching over a group of children that weren't his. He would probably end up ripping his feathers out. A lot of young girls did that sort of work for a little extra cash, though, right? Not so strange.

Anyway, she was asking for it, saying something like that. Darkwing wasn't the sort to give up the opportunity to show off, either, so it wasn't hard to get him to talk.

"Crime fighting," he stated with a crooked smile, reaching forward for another bite of food and hoping that what he said seemed dramatic and exciting to the girl.

"Really, you don't say."

With her dry, throaty, and unenthusiastic-sounding voice, it was hard for anybody to tell if Raven was being sarcastic when speaking. Anyways, if he was trying to be unbelievable and surprising, then he would have to try much harder than that.

"Are you some kind of hero?"

He sure didn’t look like it, but she also knew that appearances could be deceiving.

What? She wasn't impressed?

She sounded bored, even - and looked skeptical! Maybe Darkwing wasn't the stereotypical crime-fighter with the bulging muscles and spandex (seriously, who actually wore that?), but it didn't mean he wasn't authentic.

"Yes," he responded, obviously quite serious. He wasn't going to let some teenage girl undermine all that he stood for, after all. "It's my job to make sure that the evil-doers of St. Canard are punished!" It was a full-time job, at that.

The Fearsome Five always bounced back. It was a little tiring, really.

St. Canard… No, she wasn’t familiar with a place called that.

Maybe some other questions would help her to learn more about this supposed superhero.

"What name do you use? And what sort of… ‘evil-doers’ have you fought?” She asked, before dipping another chip in the sour cream and eating it. “I might’ve heard about them before."

It didn't seem right to be sharing this sort of information, but if the girl didn't even know what St. Canard was, it probably wouldn't matter. There was the issue of his name giving away his previous form, but maybe she wouldn't assume that.

"Darkwing... Duck," he said awkwardly. It wasn't supposed to be this way! He was supposed to announce it triumphantly, strike a pose! But now he felt a little sheepish, almost.

"And I've fought a lot of people," he quickly added with a sigh. Maybe if he kept talking, she wouldn't have time to question him. "NegaDuck, Bushroot, Quackerjack, The Liquidator, Megavolt..." There were others, but if she was going to recognize any names, she would recognize the Fearsome Five.

Darkwing... Duck? But he was clearly human. Then again, her own name didn’t really reflect her appearance (most of the time). Maybe it was a St. Canard thing. Who could tell? “Sorry, can’t say I’ve ever heard of you or those villains.”

In any case, as peculiar all those names were, (why would any villain want to name themselves ‘Quackerjack’? Or ‘Bushroot’) he did introduce himself.

“I’m Raven.”

No aliases, no secret identities to be worried about.

Just a simple name.

Of course she hadn't heard of him -- if she wasn't originally from St. Canard or Duckberg, there would be no way she could know, right? So then why had she been expecting to recognize him?

Raven... Another animal name? Did that mean, that maybe...

"What were you before you came here?" he asked, sounding almost hopeful. Maybe, just maybe...

The intercom had gone off and the head doctor was saying something, but he needed to confirm this before he went anywhere.

His question wasn’t all that surprising; she was actually already used to it.

“What you’re seeing is what I’ve always been.” Sure, she could do some shape shifting here and there, and she might’ve spent some time as a rabbit, but for the most part, Raven was a perfectly normal human teenager. Kind of.

“Guess our time is up.” Raven commented, knowing full well that a nurse could whisk them away at any moment now.

It was strange enough that she actually had known what he'd meant when he asked that question. He got the feeling that there was much more to this girl, but she was already being led away to take her shower.

Raven, huh? He was going to have to track her down at some point and figure out what else she might be hiding...

Day 23: Lunch

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