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damned_institute2010-09-22 02:40 pm
nobleobliged.livejournal.com) wrote in damned_institute2010-09-22 02:40 pm
Entry tags:
- amaterasu,
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- two-face,
- von karma,
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- xemnas,
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- zack,
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- zex
DAY 52: BREAKFAST
How one's body could maintain a waking schedule when sleep came unnaturally and in a room without windows, must surely be a mystery. Yet, as if working on cue, Natalia stirred well before her nurse arrived. That was normal. Less so, the weight that sought to press her eyelids closed again, the heaviness of her limbs that made lifting her hands to her face an effort. She put her wrist to her forehead with a frown, then attempted a jolt of energy – to swiftly dig her hands into the mattress and shove herself into a seated position, and from there, to her feet.
Not to overexert herself once again, but to refuse that it could be possible after sleeping. Happily, though all still felt leaden, her head did not swim. Encouraged, Natalia put on her slippers, rearranged the bedding, and waited. There came the announcement (reminding her, suddenly, of what she had last heard, and the guilt that had twisted in her gut, Jill--), and her face wrinkled with disgust at the hacking sound. Therapy and breakfast. Food would surely help.
Natalia did not wait long before her nurse opened the door, and after exchanging cursory “Good Morning”s (with rather more enthusiasm on the other woman's part), they began the walk to the Cafeteria. With, of course, the essential rest room stop, where water was splashed and scrubbed over her face, and her hair toyed with to no great satisfaction. At least the shower had renewed its body.
Separating in the Cafeteria, Natalia took her place in line and loaded her plate: eggs, fruit salad, fried “tater tots” (potatoes?), and curious meat wrapped in cooked dough. Some of everything, with juice and water. She thanked her servers, collected utensils and napkins, and found a seat at an empty table. It was early yet.
Sparing a brief look around to be sure no one she recognized had arrived – though she remained eager to greet every patient, at the moment she chose to focus on the possible strength gained from the meal – Natalia began to cut up the items and eat with a refined gusto. Entirely possible!
[Claude!]
Not to overexert herself once again, but to refuse that it could be possible after sleeping. Happily, though all still felt leaden, her head did not swim. Encouraged, Natalia put on her slippers, rearranged the bedding, and waited. There came the announcement (reminding her, suddenly, of what she had last heard, and the guilt that had twisted in her gut, Jill--), and her face wrinkled with disgust at the hacking sound. Therapy and breakfast. Food would surely help.
Natalia did not wait long before her nurse opened the door, and after exchanging cursory “Good Morning”s (with rather more enthusiasm on the other woman's part), they began the walk to the Cafeteria. With, of course, the essential rest room stop, where water was splashed and scrubbed over her face, and her hair toyed with to no great satisfaction. At least the shower had renewed its body.
Separating in the Cafeteria, Natalia took her place in line and loaded her plate: eggs, fruit salad, fried “tater tots” (potatoes?), and curious meat wrapped in cooked dough. Some of everything, with juice and water. She thanked her servers, collected utensils and napkins, and found a seat at an empty table. It was early yet.
Sparing a brief look around to be sure no one she recognized had arrived – though she remained eager to greet every patient, at the moment she chose to focus on the possible strength gained from the meal – Natalia began to cut up the items and eat with a refined gusto. Entirely possible!
[Claude!]
no subject
Kratos was almost relieved when he woke up. His battle with the machine-man...he knew that if that fight had gone on any longer, he would seriously run the risk of losing limb and life, in that order. And Rita was safe. While last night wasn't about to make them "close", he'd considered her a responsibility, and he had managed to keep her from death or maiming. That was a boost of some sort.
Just then, the radio announcement reminded him of what he had to look forward to today: another session with Daedalus. The young man was certainly intelligent and attentive, but he could presumably find conversation like that anywhere; he didn't need therapy to achieve it. It would be another shift spent on facades. Excellent.
In any case, time to eat breakfast - regain energy, basically. The nurse of course was still fawning over him and his injured arm, and graciously got him a plate of what she felt was appropriate for an apparent invalid. Kratos accepted the plate with a faint 'thank you' and went to go find a table.
There were still few patients in the cafeteria, and normally he would seek out the comfort of some far-off seat and enjoy the quiet, but the nurse still had her eye on him (and probably would for the rest of the shift, given his behavior yesterday), so he picked the maturest-looking person he could find and prayed that they would be understanding.
"Good morning."
no subject
Not even five minutes had passed before a stranger's voice greeted von Karma in an implicit request to sit next to him. Hmph. Of course the peace and quiet he had been enjoying was too good to be true. But what else could he expect when the cafeteria was rapidly becoming crowded?
He glanced up to observe the person who had just addressed him. At first, he thought it was that blasted Heat who had meddled into his conversation with Ms. Aigis last night. After all, they shared a similar physique and hair style. However, unlike the insolent brat, this man was somewhat older and taller, and his hair, of a more subdued shade of red than Heat's, was angled over his left eye instead of the right. Furthermore, von Karma detected none of the audacity that Heat had displayed towards him, instead noting courtesy in this man's reserved salutation. Still, it was possible that the two men were related, so for now, von Karma would remain on guard. Especially since that man's nurse seemed to be lingering around him.
von Karma gave the stranger a cordial nod. "Morning. 'Good' is a matter of opinion, however," he grumbled, shooting the hovering nurse a baleful glare. Platitude or no, he refused to insinuate that he thought this day was anything but unpleasant as all the other days he'd spent here at this hellhole. He speared a slice of peach onto his fork. "I suppose that since we're sharing this table, we should introduce ourselves. I am Manfred von Karma. Your name, please." His piercing gaze studied the other man for signs of recognition of his name.
no subject
Kratos's eyebrow rose. "That it is," he replied with some amusement, and inwardly winced when the man glared at his nurse. Hopefully her presence hadn't colored his first impression too badly, as normally his nurse left him to his own devices. But with his arm and the altercation with Rita yesterday...perhaps it couldn't be helped.
And if von Karma was looking for signs of recognition, he wouldn't be getting any--especially from a man whose surname was 'Aurion' and, if the prosecutor happened to notice, had a rock embedded in the back of his hand. He was also doing quite an impressive job with his gaze...if Kratos were a few thousand years younger, he might have actually looked away at some point. "It's Kratos Aurion. Normally I would say 'pleasure to meet you', but that's also a matter of opinion given the circumstances, isn't it?"
There was no sneer to go along with his especially wry comment, though; instead, Kratos's face remained as bland as always while he cut off a piece of his eggs with the side of his fork.
no subject
Hmm. No significant change in the man's expression so far. Even as von Karma's seatmate maintained an admirable level of eye contact, the prosecutor detected none of the inexplicable malice that had burned in Heat's gaze towards him last night. Though still a possibility that von Karma could ill afford to discount, it seemed far less likely that this man knew anything of him.
He still had to wonder why that pesky nurse was standing around so closely, however. His own usually only bothered him to this degree when she thought him incapable of managing himself -- or when she believed he was about to conduct mischief of some sort.
"Mr. Aurion," von Karma nodded. Yet another odd-sounding name, but considering all the others the prosecutor had heard at the Institute thus far, it was hardly the strangest. Though he suspected that this Kratos Aurion was making light of his disdainful remark, he had to agree with the man's words. "Indeed. Such trifling nonsense, 'small talk.' Hmph," he scoffed. "It's always refreshing to find another at this blasted Institute who can appreciate that stance."
As Mr. Aurion returned to his meal, von Karma was about to do likewise when he noticed something peculiar in the periphery of his vision. A glint of blue and gold shining from the back of the man's left hand as he sliced his eggs. A figment of his imagina-- no, there it was again! What in blazes was that? A piece of jewelry? Did the Institute even allow its prisoners such trinkets during the day? Was this the reason the damned nurse was attending to Aurion like a vigilant guard dog?
Unfortunately, from his vantage point, he wasn't able to see what it was just yet without making himself too obvious. Cutting up his pancake into perfect squares, von Karma continued to watch out of the corner of his eye to see whether the object would come into better focus.
no subject
"Indeed." Kratos actually made something close to a smile. Someone else who wasn't fond of small talk...refreshing indeed. Leon and this man would no doubt get along well.
It was difficult to eat with one hand (perhaps his right counted as half, but it tended to hinder more than help), but he wasn't about to ask von Karma to cut his eggs for him. Ilia had been allowed to help because she'd volunteered her assistance; von Karma seemed like the type of man who would chew him out for uselessness if he dared to ask even with his handicap.
He set down his fork and took a drink from his glass of water, inadvertently allowing von Karma a better look at the 'trinket' he'd taken an interest in as he lifted the glass to his lips: a blue gem mounted on a large, golden band that nearly spanned the length of Kratos's hand.
If he'd know where von Karma was looking, Kratos might have actually taken measures to keep the Cruxis Crystal out of sight; he'd already gotten in trouble at breakfast yesterday thanks to someone's curiosity.