Day 51: Arts and Crafts [Second Shift]

[gald_digger]

They actually listened to some of the suggestions people put in that box? Anise thought the Head Doctor had to be joking when he said that, but she soon heard him mention something that she herself had suggested: sewing supplies. They were really going to get some? Anise could finally get a real needle, so she could make repairs to Tokunaga whenever she needed to. She swiped one of their blunt, plastic needles before, but using that just left big holes in the fabric. Using it on Tokunaga made her feel bad, like she was hurting the poor doll.

"Isn't that nice, Dolores?" The nurse must have caught Anise's hopeful look. "But remember, you'll need to be on your best behavior until then."

"I know, I..." Anise began with her usual dismissive reply, but quickly remembered that the intercom had said 'behavior and attitudes', and instantly changed her tune. "I'll do my very best! Hee hee!" She forced a smile for the old hag.

Unfortunately, the sewing supplies weren't here today, so Anise had to find something else to do for now. Stepping inside the Arts and Crafts room, she quickly found that several tables already had paper craft ('origami,' they called it?) supplies laid out for them, so she guessed she'd just occupy herself with that. The girl sat down at one of the tables, opened up one of the books, and started looking through it.

Cranes, frogs, horses, turtles... There were lots of familiar animals, and a few unfamiliar ones, too. The rabbits looked kind of cute.

[For Ilia!]

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[inherited]

It wasn't that his talk with Rei was completely effective, but he hadn't minded having someone who would toss questions back and forth. He wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again, but he decided he'd try. Some part of him wondered how a girl like her would handle this place. It hadn't occurred to him when he was caught up in communicating with her in that clipped way, but the moment he was pulled away, the thought occurred to him. The same way it had with Shinji, actually.

Of course, he hadn't talked to that guy since his first day. Maybe it was time he finally followed up on it.

Riku considered heading to the Sun Room to do just that, but his nurse came and cut him off, placing both hands on his shoulders as a bright smile lit up her face. "You've just got to show us what kind of artist you are!" Her voice sounded a little too shrill for his tastes, but he allowed her to turn him in the direction of the Arts and Crafts room. Right. Great. Just what he wanted to do.

Fortunately, he saw a familiar face right away. Rita. She had been new the day before, but that didn't mean she hadn't done anything interesting. He left his nurse's side and moved toward her. Without asking if it was okay—he didn't really care if it was, he realized—he dropped down and slipped into a relaxed pose.

"How was last night?"

[bodhiandspirit.livejournal.com]

Rita looked up when someone seated himself at her table, and was somewhat relieved to see it was Riku. For a moment, she thought the nurse might have come back to harass her some more.

She scoffed a bit at his question. "Aside from being a complete disaster?" Virtually nothing had gone right last night. She still didn't know where the hell she had gone. The area around the lake was considerably colder than the institute, which could have been due to a difference in altitude, though it could also mean that she had traveled somewhere significantly far from the building.

When she thought about it, Rita realized it would be best to discuss her findings with other patients. This wasn't something that she could figure out just by thinking about it.

"... Do you know where the nearest body of water is?" she asked after a long pause. Riku might not have claimed to know much, but he had been on the field trip, which meant he had at least seen the scenery along the road to Doyleton.

[inherited]

"Sounds like normal," he remarked. "None of my nights have gone as planned. At least last night, we didn't run into anything." Which was a relief, he had to admit. His voice was a lot lighter than it had been the previous day, when every interaction was met with a certain level of frustration. He could act at ease about it now, especially since he had a plan and he was involved in Sora's club. Funny that it turned out that way, but he knew he and his friends needed to do something more active here. Maybe the club they were taking over would make that possible.

As for her question, he left it aside until he thought about it. A body of water? He hadn't heard of anything like that, but he realized he'd been distracted both ways from Doyleton. Maybe his problem was not looking into the scenery well enough. "I don't have any idea. Why? Do you?" It meant she knew something that he didn't. That could only be a good thing.

[bodhiandspirit.livejournal.com]

Failure was supposed to be normal? That was something Rita just couldn't get used to. Her plans always worked out, whether it was due to the thought put into them or due to the strength of the people carrying them out. She couldn't accept that she might have to face a long string of unsuccessful efforts.

"... Last night, and the night before, I was transported to a lake surrounded by mountains. There was a river and a hut nearby, as well. I couldn't see the institute in any direction from where I stood." Rita decided there was no reason to hold back in explaining, so she told as much as was important. If there was any insight he could offer, she was open to it. "I was hoping to use that area as an escape route, but I always end up back here by morning."

That last part remained the most baffling of all. How was she brought back? Why didn't she remember?

[inherited]

The detail that he focused in on was the hut. If it happened one night and then the next night, it meant that she knew how to use the rings, and whether they were successful or not. "Then you used the ring." It was as simple as that, and he didn't want to give her any choice of getting out of it. If she didn't know how to get there, it was very obvious.

But that meant this place was important for some reason. Why else would it be connected to the institute? He wondered if Sora ever heard of such a place.

"Did you go inside of the hut?" Knowing what was in there seemed more important than using it as an escape route. They didn't know how to extend their nights just yet. He did agree that it was a good choice, but they'd have to get back there again first.

[bodhiandspirit.livejournal.com]

"That's right." It was nice that Rita didn't need to spell things out for Riku. It should have been obvious from what she said that she had used a Portal Ring, and fortunately for both of them, Riku was decently quick on the uptake. "Since it's already been used, I don't think I'll be getting back there so easily again. Not that there's much to get back to." A range of mountains and a pool of freezing water wasn't exactly something Rita needed. Riku seemed interested in hearing about what she saw, though, so Rita supposed she'd go ahead and tell him. Right now, she had nothing to hide and plenty to learn.

"Yeah, we went in. Believe me, there wasn't much to see. Everything was moldy and rusted, like it had been abandoned for years. There were some fishing supplies and living necessities, but none of it was in usable condition. About the only thing we found that was worth taking were some lanterns." Fortunately for them, it looked like those lanterns were meant to be wind and waterproof - probably so they could be used at sea or during storms. It was too bad the light devices the hospital provided weren't so reliable.