Day 50: Cafeteria (Brunch)

[selfrescuer.livejournal.com]

Somehow, after their talk in the chapel, Elaine felt simultaneously more accepting of and more irritated by her future husband. On the one hand, seven years had clearly been good to him. He seemed more sincere and thoughtful than he had been before his disappearance, and he had a more mature (dare she say, handsome?) look to him. On the other hand, there were clearly some things that made even time throw up its hands in vain and say, "To hell with this!" Guybrush was still inexorably prone to disastrous accidents if the story about the Pox of LeChuck was anything to go by, and he was so obviously keeping something important from her that any passing dolt in the Institute would have been able to tell. In the end, that eternal underlying sweetness of his that won out, keeping her from punching him again, at least. That was only by a hairs width, though. Her snugglecakes was going to have to stay on his best behaviour if he knew what was good for him.

She left the Mighty Pirate™ alone for the time being when the announcement of the next shift went off. He would want some time to catch up with Morgan next, presumably. As much as the woman's attitude bothered her, she was a friend of Guybrush's, as she had claimed. Elaine could be strict, but she wasn't the kind of shrewish future wife/past fiancé who would keep her man from seeing his friends. Besides, she needed some more time to catch up on the goings-on of the Institute. Patients filled the building to the brim, now, it seemed; there would be a lot to investigate.

After a few quick trips back and forth to the bulletin and a few new leads to follow up on, the governor gave in to her nurse's persistent nagging and headed to the cafeteria for brunch. After the relatively light fare of the day before, Elaine took advantage of the Institute's admittedly scrumptious offerings and loaded up a full, balanced brunchfast of eggs, sausage links, waffles, and vegetable soup. As expected, the selection of drinks did not offer either root beer or grog. Grog she could live without, at least, she thought while making a face. Eugh. For now, she settled for a tall glass of water.

Elaine settled into a seat in the cafeteria and tucked into her meal. Her eyes didn't stay on her food, though, instead gazing around restlessly; she hadn't seen LeChuck so far this morning, and god forbid he wanted to invite himself to brunch with her if he chose now to show up. A certain horribly unpleasant dinner on Mêlée Island came to mind. She was prepared to either move at the first sign of the dread pirate or signal a random stranger to sit with her before he could.

[For Dean]

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[laguz-decoy.livejournal.com]

Ranulf realized his smile had become a little more genuine. Perhaps it was the fact that Minato were so polite... or the fact his hair was the same color as Ike's. In any case, the laguz felt his mood lift a bit as he continued the conversation.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Minato." He brought up his hand toward his chin, tapping it lightly with his forefinger as his eyes wandered upward in thought. "I've been here far too long, but if we're being literal I'd say about... three days?" On the word "three" he brought his gaze back to Minato, the left corner of his mouth tugging upward with a welcoming smirk.

"And how long have you been a guest of this wondrous establishment?" His eyes laughing as his voice dripped with sarcasm.

[foolishmessiah.livejournal.com]

Minato looked thoughtful as Ranulf answered how long he had been in the institute. With each new acquaintance, he felt more ... experienced. And yet he knew that wasn't the case; as the events last night had easily proven, there were still many secrets to the institute that he was not aware of. He wondered how much Ranulf had managed to learn in three days.

"Including today, a week." He shook his head slightly, pausing to eat some of his food and give the immediate area a quick glance. With the introductions and pleasantries out of the way, he could breach other topics. He kept his tone casual, taking a cue from the other and using a bit of sarcasm. "Interesting nightlife, huh?" Despite his words, his gray eyes were alert.

[laguz-decoy.livejournal.com]

"Interesting" was putting it lightly. Letting out a short laugh, a majority of the air coming out of his nostrils, Ranulf smiled enough to show his teeth. Minato's return indicated the boy had a good sense of humor, which caused him to feel more relaxed.

Normally a week wouldn't indicate much but, in this place, a week might as well have been a century. Perhaps he had information on the head doctor, or the entire operation of the Institute. Averting his gaze toward his plate, he chuckled a bit before answering, picking up his fork and using it to pick at his uneaten food.

"If by "interesting" you mean "hellish" then you'd most certainly be correct. How do you usually spend your "evenings" Minato?" Violet and green eyes flashing, he glanced upward in knowing curiosity.